In 2006, she was named campaign coordinator for Felipe Calderón. She was not part of Calderón’s inner circle which caused some disputes during the campaign. When Calderón won, she was part of the transition team as the Coordinator of Political ties (Enlace Político). After the election, she was named Secretary of Public Education, the first woman in the job. Josefina had vied for the Secretaría de Gobernación position but she was offered to return to SEDESOL or to head the Secretariat of Public Education. She chose the latter as a new challenge. Her time there was marked by confrontations with the powerful head of the national teachers’ union, Elba Esther Gordillo. Some reports state that these confrontations caused problems with Calderon’s advisors with Calderon ready to remove her from the position, but this has not been confirmed. She won election to the Cámara de Diputados once again, this time becoming the Coordinator of the PAN Parliamentary Group. This gave her position to run for her party’s nomination for the 2012 presidential elections. She was in charge of PAN’s parliamentary group from 2009 to 2011.