Linda McMahon confirmed as Trump’s secretary of Education
Florida Phoenix | By Shauneen Miranda | March 3, 2025
WASHINGTON — Former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon will be the next secretary of Education, after the U.S. Senate confirmed her bid Monday.
McMahon — confirmed on a party-line vote, 51-45 — will now be responsible for the 45-year-old department that enforces civil rights cases, issues federal student aid, provides Title I funds to low-income school districts and guarantees a free public education for children with disabilities via the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.
Four senators did not vote, including Republican Sens. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming as well as Democratic Sens. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Peter Welch of Vermont.
But President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to dismantle the federal agency and could soon issue an executive order diminishing the department.
He’s even said he wants McMahon “to put herself out of a job.” He has not yet, however, issued any orders attempting to end the department.
McMahon background
McMahon served as co-chair of Trump’s transition team, led the Small Business Administration during his first White House term and is the chair of the board of the America First Policy Institute — a Trump-loyal think tank.
Her education record includes a stint on the Connecticut Board of Education, and she’s on the board of trustees at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.
McMahon’s confirmation followed a procedural vote last week, where she advanced 51-47 in a party-line vote. Republican Sens. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Todd Young of Indiana did not vote during that round.
Opposition from Democrats
Democrats and leading education and civil rights groups have fiercely opposed McMahon’s nomination.
“McMahon’s confirmation would be a slap in the face to students, parents, teachers — who care about our public schools,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said during remarks on the Senate floor Monday ahead of the vote.
Meanwhile, Trump’s sweeping education agenda has already begun to come to fruition in the weeks since he took office.
His education-related executive orders include a ban on transgender athletes competing on women’s school sports teams consistent with their gender identity; prioritizing school choice funding; ending what the administration sees as “radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling”; and taking “additional measures to combat anti-semitism.”
The department has already begun to launch Title IX investigations into school districts, universities and athletic associations across the country. Maine’s Department of Education and a school district in Washington state are among those being investigated.
