Quick summary
• Linda McMahon, a billionaire GOP megadonor with no substantial education policy experience, faced intense scrutiny at her confirmation hearing for Secretary of Education.
• Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) aim to dismantle the Department of Education, with McMahon proposing to shift its functions to other agencies.
• McMahon refused to give clear answers on whether she would follow illegal directives from Trump or Musk, raising concerns about her independence.
• Educators and unions warn that McMahon’s support for school vouchers would divert public funds to private schools, undermining public education.
• DOGE has already accessed 45 million student loan accounts without authorization, leading to lawsuits from unions over privacy violations.
• Protesters interrupted the hearing over concerns about cuts to education programs, LGBTQ+ rights, and protections for students with disabilities.
• Critics argue McMahon’s confirmation would accelerate the defunding and privatization of public education, disproportionately harming marginalized students.
Linda McMahon, a billionaire GOP megadonor and former CEO of WWE with no substantial background in education policy, faced intense scrutiny at her Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday. Nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as Secretary of Education, McMahon’s testimony and evasive responses on key issues confirmed what education advocates and unions have long feared—her appointment is a calculated step toward dismantling the Department of Education (DOE) and privatizing the U.S. school system.
Trump has openly expressed his desire to abolish the Department of Education altogether, and his administration’s actions so far have aligned with this goal. Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has already claimed that “it doesn’t exist” anymore. Meanwhile, McMahon has outlined how DOE functions could be fragmented and distributed among other agencies, a strategy that education advocates argue would weaken oversight, eliminate protections for students, and shift public funds to private schools.
The largest U.S. teachers union, the National Education Association (NEA), has denounced McMahon’s nomination, warning of dire consequences for public education.
“Education is meant to be the great equalizer for our children, not a great investment opportunity for the billionaires ransacking our federal government,” said NEA President Becky Pringle.
During the hearing, McMahon deflected questions about her willingness to follow illegal directives from Trump or Musk, defended school vouchers that funnel public money into private schools, and failed to address critical issues surrounding student loan data privacy.
McMahon’s nomination is part of a broader push by Trump, Musk, and right-wing billionaires to dismantle the DOE and shift federal education funding into the private sector. While McMahon claimed that her goal was simply to make education programs operate “more efficiently,” her answers indicated a clear willingness to strip federal oversight and redistribute DOE functions to other agencies.
During the hearing, McMahon proposed:
• Transferring special education programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to the Department of Health and Human Services.
• Moving the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which enforces anti-discrimination protections in schools, to the Department of Justice—potentially weakening enforcement of Title IX and disability rights protections.
• Shifting oversight of federal student loans to other agencies, possibly eliminating regulatory safeguards for borrowers.
Pringle warned that McMahon’s appointment would “dismantle public education as we know it” and redirect taxpayer funds to private institutions, religious schools, and for-profit education companies at the expense of the 90% of U.S. students who attend public schools.
“If confirmed, Linda McMahon will dismantle public education as we know it to fund tax cuts for billionaires,” Pringle said. “She will push vouchers that take funding from our public schools, where 90% of all children and 95% of those with disabilities learn and grow.”
McMahon’s testimony was marked by evasive answers and deflections on key questions about her independence from Trump and Musk.
Democrats on the Senate committee repeatedly pressed McMahon on whether she would follow directives from Trump or Musk that conflict with congressional mandates. The nominee downplayed DOGE’s involvement in education policy, calling it nothing more than an “audit,” despite reports that DOGE operatives have accessed 45 million student loan accounts and funneled the data into AI systems in one of the largest data privacy breaches in U.S. history.
AFT President Randi Weingarten condemned DOGE’s access to student loan records, highlighting a lawsuit filed against multiple agencies and the Office of Personnel Management for violating the Privacy Act.
“Inside the Education Department, the world’s richest man and his minions have been rifling through 45 million people’s private student loan accounts and feeding the data into artificial intelligence in one of the biggest data hacks in U.S. history,” Weingarten said.
When asked whether she would protect students from further data breaches and demand Musk’s removal from education policy, McMahon refused to provide a clear answer.
McMahon’s confirmation hearing was disrupted multiple times by protesters, including educators and disability rights advocates concerned about the future of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Several demonstrators were forcibly removed from the hearing room after speaking out against:
• DOE cuts targeting students with disabilities.
• Attacks on LGBTQ+ youth and transgender students.
• The administration’s plan to shift public education funding into voucher programs that benefit the wealthy.
Outside the Capitol, activists and teachers unions rallied in freezing temperatures to demand McMahon’s rejection, arguing that her policies would disproportionately harm low-income students, communities of color, and children with disabilities.
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO of MomsRising, called McMahon “wholly unqualified” and said Trump’s education plan “puts our children at risk and has grave implications for our workforce and our economy.”
McMahon expressed strong support for school vouchers, a system that allows public tax dollars to fund private and religious schools.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) warned that vouchers would create a “two-tier system” where public schools are starved of funding while wealthy families receive taxpayer subsidies for private education.
“In America, we must not allow our educational system to become a two-tier system,” Sanders said.
McMahon’s proposals to move the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights to the Justice Department alarmed civil rights groups, who fear weakened enforcement of Title IX and disability protections.
In a tense exchange, Sen. Chris Murphy asked McMahon whether DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives, African American history classes, and LGBTQ+ protections would be banned under Trump’s executive orders.
McMahon failed to provide a clear answer, instead saying, “I’d like to look into it further.”
Murphy responded that her non-answer “would have a lot of educators and a lot of principals and administrators scrambling right now.”
McMahon’s confirmation hearing made clear that the Trump administration’s goal is not education reform, but dismantling public schools and privatizing the system for corporate gain.
Her refusal to answer direct questions, her support for school vouchers, and her willingness to shift key DOE functions to other agencies all point to a future where public education is defunded and left to collapse.
Educators, unions, and civil rights groups are mobilizing against McMahon’s nomination, warning that she represents a fundamental threat to public education. The fight over her confirmation is just the beginning of a broader battle over the future of education in America.
“By continuing to come for our public schools, they are further angering the Black families who count on civil rights protections, the families of children with disabilities who rely on federal standards, the families in poverty who rely on federal support,” said Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union.
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