A group of House Democrats said they’ve established a cordial but cautious relationship with Education Secretary Linda McMahon to discuss the future of her ever-shrinking department and federal funding for K–12 and higher education.
During a news conference on April 2 following their meeting with McMahon in her Washington office, the Congress members said their main concerns include maintaining school-related civil rights investigations with the reduced staff and assuring their constituents that funding for special education programs and low-income districts won’t be cut or mismanaged.
Changes to the Title I program for low-income student populations haven’t been announced. Some House Democrats said they believe the funding stream will eventually be moved to states via block grants. They said they worry states will leverage those funds against school districts because of political agendas.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said McMahon assured them she wouldn’t entirely close her agency without congressional approval. Raskin said that it was unclear whether moving Department of Education functions to other agencies violates any federal statutes.
“We’re going to be zealously watching that,” he said.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said McMahon is reducing the department as if it were a “corporate restructuring” and has yet to disclose a long-term plan for its functions.
McMahon then appeared at the press conference, to the attendees’ surprise, and some Congress members softened their tone, thanking the education secretary for hearing their concerns and welcoming her to the podium.
While the two sides disagree over the path to improving public education, McMahon said, the good news is that everyone’s interest is the well-being of children who will grow up to become the country’s next engineers, doctors, lawyers, and tradespeople.
“This is not a partisan issue,” she said. “This is about the children of America.
“Funding from the United States government will continue through the programs that have already been established. I will look forward to continuing to work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.”
As McMahon left the podium and headed back to her office, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) asked McMahon when she plans to shut down her own building, to which she replied, “We’ve had our discussions already, so thank you all very, very much for coming.”
Takano then looked at the media audience and said: “As you can see, she’s not answering the question when she’s going to shut down the Department of Education. She doesn’t have a plan, and while she doesn’t have a plan, they continue to look at firing people, reduction in the workforce—maybe doing it with a velvet glove, but [it] still has the effect of an iron fist.”
Trump’s March 20 executive order authorizes McMahon to “facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
