Linda McMahon Confirmed as Secretary of Education
Credit: Al Drago / Bloomberg / Getty Images- Former WWE President Linda McMahon now leads the Department of Education.
- She is the 13th secretary of education and fourth woman to lead the department.
- McMahon supports a proposal to dissolve the Department of Education during Trump’s presidency.
- Her higher education priorities include Pell Grant reform and combating antisemitism on college campuses.
Former business executive Linda McMahon now leads the Department of Education, giving her broad power in the oversight of colleges and universities across the U.S.
The U.S. Senate voted to confirm McMahon’s nomination 51-45, along party lines. Subsequently, she became the 13th secretary of education and the fourth woman to lead the department.
“As you are all aware, President Trump nominated me to take the lead on one of his most momentous campaign promises to families,” McMahon said in a statement. “My vision is aligned with the president’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children.”
McMahon supports a massive overhaul of the Department of Education (ED). During her confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, she backed President Donald Trump’s idea to dissolve ED but said doing so would take congressional action.
Select federal departments would assume some responsibilities currently overseen by ED, she said, while other responsibilities would transfer to states.
“As I’ve learned many times throughout my career, disruption leads to innovation and gets results,” McMahon said. “We must start thinking about our final mission at the department as an overhaul — a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great.”
Other higher education priorities she outlined during her confirmation hearing included:
- Expanding Pell Grants to cover short-term workforce programs
- Overhauling the college accreditation process
- Continuing to pay out grants already allocated by Congress
- Enforcing antisemitism policies across college campuses
- Eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at schools
- Forcing athletes to participate on sports teams matching their gender assigned at birth
As secretary of education, she may also wield the power to revoke federal funds from colleges and universities across the U.S.
Some Republican lawmakers celebrated McMahon’s confirmation, including Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan.
“For too long, [ED] has bowed down to bureaucrats rather than stand up for students,” Walberg said in a statement. “Secretary McMahon has demonstrated she is a fierce advocate for our youth. Her leadership and experience both in education and business will help ensure we are setting our students up for successful futures.”
Not all were pleased with her confirmation. EdTrust, an organization that advocates for equitable education, called her a “dire threat” to American students.
“The Senate confirmation of Linda McMahon as U.S. secretary of education marks a dangerous turning point for public education in America,” EdTrust said in a statement. “Her confirmation signals a blatant disregard for the federal government’s responsibility to ensure equitable access to a high-quality education for all students in America.”
McMahon previously served as the Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator during Trump’s first term. Since then she has also served as the chair of America First Action, a pro-Trump super political action committee, and chair of the board of the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a conservative think tank.
Previously, she was the president and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for nearly three full decades.
Four senators did not cast a vote in McMahon’s confirmation:
- Cynthia Lummis (Republican, Wyoming)
- Shelley Moore Capito (Republican, West Virginia)
- Elissa Slotkin (Democrat, Michigan)
- Peter Welch (Democrat, Vermont)