Department of Education in limbo amid Linda McMahon’s confirmation hearing
President Trump’s Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon It will appear on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee on Thursday as the agency’s future may lead to leaders pending.
Mr. Trump has long been ridiculing the possibility of ending the Department of Education, but he may be better at making good commitments. The president has signed several times since taking office Execution orders related to education and Several sources confirm that he is considering administrative actions to remove the agency. This week, the government efficiency department or threshold, Chief Elon Musk also cut nearly $1 billion from the department and terminated dozens of contracts related to diversity, equity and inclusion and Grant.
“Oh, I hope to close immediately,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “Look, the Education Department is a big job.”
Before the testimony, McMahon met at least 19 senators, from Republican leadership to members of the rescue committee, including Chairman Bill Cassidy, who said the two had conducted “productive” discuss.
Senator Cassidy said on X: “She is ready to return power to her parents and reform an education department that lost plots in the last four years of the Biden administration.”
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who serves as a panelist, joined the union members of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, who were on Wednesday at McMahon outside the U.S. Capitol Hong nominated.
“We know that public education is the backbone of American democracy, and we all come together to learn and grow,” Sanders told the crowd. “Our job is not to undermine public education, but to greatly improve public education!”
Democracy Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Andy Kim of New Jersey wrote to McMahon, questioning her experience and policy views.
“There are few records on education issues and very little experience related to education policy,” the senator wrote. “The lack of public records means there is no opportunity to evaluate your views on topics related to the Secretary of Education’s core responsibilities.”
McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, served as an executive at the Small Business Administration during Mr. Trump’s first term, said she was “committed to” ensuring Students receive quality education.
“I look forward to working with students (educators – parents and communities) to strengthen our education system; to ensure that every child regardless of how their demographers do well for a bright future,” McMahon said in a statement. Prepare.” November.
Al Drago/Bloomberg by Getty Images
Congressional Democrats seized on Mr. Trump’s threat to eliminating the education sector as some House members actually locked it in the agency’s Washington, D.C. when they tried to meet with acting education secretary Denise Carter last week , headquarters.
“It’s important for us to keep working,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a weekly press conference. “That’s the heart, soul and spirit of America. For me Throughout my life, I don’t understand why Republicans were repealing the Department of Education. It’s confusing to me. It’s confusing to the American people and we will continue to defend our public schools.”
Even if Mr. Trump moves forward through executive orders, legal and education experts say Congressional action will be needed to fully eliminate the Department of Education.
South Dakota Republican Senator Mike Rounds introduced legislation last year outlining a roadmap for repealing the education department and returning to states. It will also redirect other federal agencies to oversee certain functions such as Pell Grants and Special Education.
Shortly after Republicans controlled two chambers in January, Rep. Tom Massie, a Republican in Kentucky, introduced a single-synthetic bill to terminate the agency by the end of 2026. Countermeasures to protect the Ministry of Education have been introduced.
“We are not going to bring opportunities for so many kids,” Hayes said. “We are not going to eliminate Pell’s grants and all the programs that help low-income communities go to college.”
“I think, as the American people start to understand, ‘Oh, wait a minute, I don’t realize that this is what it means,’ that’s all the departments, and I think there will be a public outcry and a fight back,” Hayes added, Mentioned Mr. Trump’s expectations were cut to the federal government.
But House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that it has arrived “now” to dissolve the education sector and said that Congress should compile the president’s executive order if enacted.
“We believe in the core principle that education is the closest people to children to deal with education,” Johnson explained. “What does this mean? It means local school districts, local school boards. It means at the state level and Not at the federal level. We think you empower parents when you do it. We give them more choices when you do it. So that’s it. Why do we advocate for school choices.
President Jimmy Carter signed legislation in 1979 to establish the Ministry of Education. Federal funds are less than 10% of the national public school funding, which is mainly through state and local taxes. The institution is tasked with promoting student achievement, also managing programs for disadvantaged students and students with special needs, implementing non-discrimination policies in schools, and supporting federal college loan programs.
