5 Takeaways From Education Secretary Nominee Linda McMahon’s Confirmation Hearing

Nominee for Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testifies during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on Capitol Hill on Feb. 13, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

At her confirmation hearing, just days after President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) embarked on deep cuts to the Department of Education, Linda McMahon, the president’s pick for secretary of education, was asked how a federal agency on the chopping block could continue to serve the majority of K–12 and university students across America.

McMahon appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in Washington on Feb. 13.

During Trump’s first administration, McMahon, 76, served as administrator of the Small Business Administration. She and her husband, Vince McMahon, founded World Wrestling Entertainment.

McMahon also previously served on the Connecticut State Board of Education and is currently on Sacred Heart University’s board of trustees. She also chaired the America First Policy Institute think tank and twice ran, unsuccessfully, for the Senate.

Last year, the Department of Education operated with a budget of about $268 billion. Trump and DOGE began spending cuts this week by canceling more than $900 million on contracts related to the department’s research functions and diversity, equity, and inclusion training.

Trump has said that McMahon is expected to lose her job as she helps him dismantle the department and return control of public education to the states.

McMahon told committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.) that “it is not the president’s goal to defund the programs ... only to have it operate more efficiently.”

In five separate incidents during the hearing, audience members identified as teachers were removed for disruptive behavior that Cassidy called “amazingly bad.”

Here are key takeaways from the hearing.

Cut Bureaucracy, Not Funding

McMahon said, generally, it is not the president’s goal to defund programs but to have them operate more efficiently.

Asked repeatedly by committee Democrats if Trump could abolish the Department of Education, McMahon replied that the president would be working with Congress on the plans.

She said she favors dismantling the agency and transferring its administrative functions to other departments. For example, student loan functions might be moved to the Department of the Treasury and the agency’s Office of Civil Rights to the Justice Department. McMahon said disability issues could go to Health and Human Services, which administered funds for special education programs for four years before the Department of Education was established in 1979.

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said she opposes entrusting special education oversight to newly confirmed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and that one of the Department of Education’s initial purposes was to provide closer attention to disabled students through a smaller agency.

“These kids were institutionalized and abused,” Hassan said. “It takes a national commitment to get it done.”

McMahon cited the decline of reading and math scores across the nation as another reason for dismantling the Education Department and trusting states to determine their curriculum and standards.

“We are failing our students,” she said. “What we are doing is not working, and we need to change it.”

Universal School Choice

McMahon said one of her primary responsibilities is strengthening public schools, but she supports all forms of school choice, including private school vouchers.

She cited examples of Connecticut charter schools that helped students move beyond grade level at a time when the larger neighborhood high schools were graduating students who could barely read. The charters in her state operate with state funds but must raise their own money for facilities.

McMahon’s position sparked the ire of committee Democrats who oppose states funding vouchers for private schools that are not obligated to admit all students. Ranking member Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said school choice programs would establish a two-tier education system that segregates students by race and socioeconomic status.

“In America, we must not allow that to happen,” Sanders said.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said public schools across all states, regardless of class and race or urban or rural location, are already failing under the current bureaucracy that has cost taxpayers nearly $1 trillion.

“For the poorest kids in our country who are disillusioned about the American dream, the answers they are looking for rarely come from Washington,” Scott said. “To turn this around, we need someone who has already succeeded in business and government.”

Uncertainty on DEI Parameters

McMahon said diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs were established with good intentions, but over time, they became more divisive, leading to recent events in which some high schools have separate student government leaders for Black and Hispanic students.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) asked if Trump’s executive orders against DEI should be interpreted to mean schools would lose federal funding if they teach African-American history or allow after-school ethnic clubs or student organizations, to which McMahon replied that she would like to take a look at these programs and fully understand the breadth of the executive order and get back to him.

“That’s pretty chilling,” Murphy said of the executive order.

Vocational Education

McMahon said too many guidance counselors and parents, herself included, have traditionally sold high school students on four-year college programs while ignoring career and technical training opportunities.

The nominee advocated expanding federally funded student loans and Pell Grant programs to cover shorter-term certificate programs. She also encouraged public schools to do all they can to help students save money on furthering their education or career training after 12th grade, including dual-credit programs where students complete college or certificate credits before high school graduation.

“A four-year degree is not for everyone,” she said. “It’s not one size fits all.”

Common Sense on College Campuses

In response to Republican members’ questions, McMahon said she would uphold Trump’s order to prevent biological men from playing on women’s sports teams or entering their locker rooms, end DEI-related hiring and admissions practices, and fight anti-Semitism on university campuses.

She also said she would investigate allegations that higher education accreditation agencies use their leverage to maintain liberal teaching faculties and trustees.

While President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program will not be continued under Trump, the public service student loan forgiveness program that dates back decades is a different matter.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) asked McMahon if she would continue to honor student loan forgiveness to qualifying members of the military, first responders, and other professionals who are eligible for the benefit, even if DOGE were to recommend otherwise.

“Yes,” McMahon said, “because that’s the law.”