Senate confirms Linda McMahon, Trump’s ed secretary pick, who has ‘big task’ ahead

President Donald Trump’s choice for education secretary, Linda McMahon, was confirmed by the Senate on Monday night – making her the head of a department that Trump has promised to dismantle.

The Senate voted 51-45 to confirm McMahon, who led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s term and was once CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment. McMahon also served on the Connecticut State Board of Education and as chair of the America First Policy Institute. 

McMahon faces the unique job of leading the Department of Education (DOE), which the president has said he wants to be “closed immediately,” calling it a “big con job.” Trump has also said he hopes McMahon will “put herself out of a job.”  

McMahon, who acknowledged during her committee hearing that congressional action would be needed to shut down the DOE, has been a vocal supporter of parental rights, expanding school choice, reducing the federal “education bureaucracy,” and sending control back to the states and school districts. McMahon opposes “political indoctrination in classrooms” – such as critical race theory and “radical gender ideology” – and is critical of “failing one-size-fits-all education models,” according to her nomination biography.  

“By all accounts, Linda McMahon did a great job running the Small Business Administration in the last Trump administration,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said ahead of the vote on Monday. “I have no reason to believe that she cannot run the Department of Education. I think she understands the difference between state and federal roles in education.” 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said McMahon will bring “valuable experience, an incredible work ethic, and a passion for education” to her new role. 

“She has a big task ahead of her, let’s acknowledge that,” Thune said ahead of the vote. “In January, the Nation’s Report Card revealed that American students are still struggling to make up ground lost during the pandemic,” he said, citing falling reading scores and math scores that remain below pre-pandemic levels. 

“As a son of two public school educators and father of two daughters who went to public schools, I know this problem isn’t going to be fixed by Washington bureaucrats,” he added. “It’s going to be fixed by good teachers, administrators, school boards and parents, the people who are closest to the students and most invested in their success.” 

However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed a vote for McMahon is “a vote for draconian cuts to education and rising property taxes for middle-class and suburban American families.” 

“That’s why I am so proud that every Democrat will vote no to stand up for our schools, for our kids, for our teachers, for public education and to prevent property taxes from going up further,” he said. “Donald Trump is clear he wants to eliminate the department and push never before seen cuts to public schools. Ms. McMahon will make that happen, her whole background is anti-public schools.” 

Ahead of the full Senate vote, ​​McMahon cleared a committee vote on Feb. 20 as Republican senators expressed optimism that she would get “the education system back on track,” as The Lion reported. At her committee hearing, McMahon promised to use her education and business experience to bring much-needed change to a department that she sees as failing students.  

“Fund education freedom, not government-run systems. Listen to parents, not politicians,” she said. “Build up careers, not college debt. Empower states, not special interests. Invest in teachers, not Washington bureaucrats.”