The U.S. Senate on Monday voted to confirm Linda McMahon as the next secretary of education, even though she has expressed support for President Donald Trump’s goal of abolishing the Education Department.
McMahon, who served as the head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term, has limited experience in education. She served on the Connecticut State Education Board for one year, and is better known for founding World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. with her husband, Vince McMahon. (Both McMahons have been named in a lawsuit alleging that they covered sexual abuse at the company.)
McMahon has parroted Republican talking points about the state of public schools across the country — notably, that they are pushing a left-wing political agenda on students instead of focusing on academics.
On the campaign trail, Trump said repeatedly that the Education Department should be shut down. And during his first few days in office, Trump signed a flurry of executive orders aimed at public schools, including one that threatened to pull federal funding from schools that teach “divisive” topics.
During her confirmation hearing, McMahon was noncommittal when senators asked her if she wanted to shut down the department, and refused to say whether schools would be at risk of losing funding if they violated Trump’s orders by hosting groups and clubs that deal with race or ethnicity. But as HuffPost previously reported, McMahon said during post-hearing testimony that she “wholeheartedly supports” the president’s plans to get rid of the agency.
Fully shutting down the agency would require an act of Congress. But advocates worry that McMahon and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency — the Elon Musk-led outfit haphazardly slashing government agencies and programs in the name of cost-saving — could still seriously damage public education.
The Department of Education’s main responsibilities are providing funding for low-income schools, ensuring equal access to education for students with disabilities, dispersing federal student loans, and handling civil rights complaints. Without an agency overseeing these functions, schools may struggle to pay teachers, civil rights violations may go unnoticed, and all 49 million public school students in the U.S. could be at risk of losing their right to a quality education.
Go Ad-Free — And Protect The Free Press
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
Since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis spurred nationwide racial justice protests and the coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools temporarily, conservative culture warriors have been attacking public schools by falsely claiming teachers are indoctrinating students with “woke” ideologies. The movement pushed elected officials to run on platforms dedicated to dismantling public schools and transforming them into a haven for right-wing ideas.
The Republican activists and groups purporting these ideas have coalesced around the notion of “parental rights,” arguing that they are fighting on behalf of children while attacking racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights. McMahon has positioned herself as a big supporter of the movement, and repeatedly mentioned parental rights during her confirmation hearing.