McMahon vows to make changes
Education pick talks roadmap for dismantling the department
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WASHINGTON -- Linda McMahon on Thursday sketched out how key functions of the Education Department could be carved up to achieve President Donald Trump's goal of dismantling the agency, vowing to "reorient" the department while continuing some of its largest programs.
At her confirmation hearing, McMahon said she would preserve core initiatives including Title I money for low-income schools, Pell grants for low-income college students and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. She said the Trump administration wants to "do this right" and she believes it would take an act of Congress to abolish the department.
"We'd like to make sure that we are presenting a plan that I think our senators could get on board with, and our Congress could get on board with, that would have a better functioning Department of Education," McMahon said. But closing the department "certainly does require congressional action."
McMahon said the president's goal is not to defund key programs, but to have them "operate more efficiently." But she questioned whether some programs should be moved to other agencies. Enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, she suggested, "may very well rest better" in the Department of Health and Human Services, an agency that already has oversight of disability issues. The agency's Office for Civil Rights, she said, could fit better at the Justice Department.
Democrats repeatedly grilled McMahon on her willingness to follow orders from Trump or Elon Musk even if they run afoul of congressional mandates. The issue could come to a head as Trump looks to slash department spending, much of which is ordered by Congress. McMahon played down the work of Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, calling its work nothing more than an "audit," but she also pledged to uphold the law and show deference to Congress.
"We will certainly expend those dollars that Congress has passed," she said at the hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
McMahon sought to reassure senators that politically popular programs were safe, yet at the same time she promised to cut federal money from schools and colleges that defy Trump's demands, including his executive orders against transgender athletes, campus antisemitism and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
In a tense exchange, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy asked McMahon to clarify the boundaries of Trump's order banning DEI in schools. McMahon said events celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. should be allowed, but she hesitated when asked about African American history classes.
"I'm not quite certain," she said. "I'd like to look into it further." Murphy said her answer would "have a lot of educators and a lot of principals and administrators scrambling right now."
Most Republicans were unified in support of McMahon, but Sen. Lisa Murkowski
warned of potential overstep in Trump's agenda. She cautioned McMahon to beware of federal legislation that forbids the U.S. government from asserting control over school curriculum decisions.
"You may be in a situation where, as secretary, you may not condition the award of a grant on a school agreeing not to teach DEI subjects," Murkowski said. "You may be in a position where you are not able to prohibit teachers from discussing LGBTQ issues with students."