 On March 29, 2016, StudentsFirst announced some of its state chapters would merge with 50CAN, a nonprofit education advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

On November 19, 2016, Rhee met with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President–elect Mike Pence, sparking speculation that she was in consideration for Secretary of Education; Rhee later tweeted that she was not interested in pursuing the position.Rhee has served on the advisory boards for the National Council on Teacher Quality, and the National Center for Alternative Certification.She was a special guest of First Lady Laura Bush at President George W. Bush's 2008 State of the Union address.