Linda McMahon officially leads DOE. Here’s what that could mean for disabled students.
MSNBC2 days ago
Linda McMahon Confirmed as US Education Secretary
Above: Linda McMahon testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee to examine her nomination to be Secretary of Education at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Feb. 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. Image copyright: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post/Contributor via Getty Images
The Facts
The US Senate voted along party lines, by a margin of 51-45 votes, to confirm Linda McMahon as the next US Education Secretary on Monday.
Shortly after being sworn in, McMahon, the co-founder and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, issued a statement from the Dept. of Education website in which she outlined the agency's so-called "final mission" — what she described as "accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education."
The message aligned with that of US Pres. Donald Trump who last month told reporters in the Oval Office that he wanted McMahon to "put herself out of a job" by shuttering the agency.
The Spin
Republican narrative
For too long, a bloated bureaucracy has meant that America's education has fallen prey to political ideologies, special interests, and unjust discrimination. Trump's plan is to reduce this bloat while empowering states to make the decisions. It's at the local level that overhauls will be made to make America's education great once again.
Democratic narrative
Trump's plan to slash the Department of Education will have so many devastating consequences around the country. For instance, what about the large numbers of disabled children around the US who rely on federal funding for their education? Like Trump's other cuts, the plan appears to be to act now and think later.