Linda McMahon during her Senate confirmation hearing as President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, outlining her top priorities for reshaping US education. (Getty Images)

The US Senate confirmed billionaire GOP donor and former wrestling executive Linda McMahon as the next Secretary of Education in a 51-45 vote on Monday. McMahon’s ascent to the helm of the education sector marks a pivotal moment for the federal agency. While her confirmation was widely anticipated in the Republican-led chamber, it has fanned the flames of concerns about the future of national education policy. She now takes the reins of a department standing at the crossroads of massive transformation—or potential dismantlement.

Tasked with leading a department Trump wants gone

McMahon is stepping in to take control of a turbulent landscape where massive layoffs have already begun, and President Donald Trump has expressed his intent to dissolve the US Department of Education. “We’d like to do this right,” McMahon stated during her confirmation hearing, as reported by USA Today, acknowledging that Congress holds the authority to dismantle the agency.
Meanwhile, key education policies hang in limbo. Student loan repayment plans remain stalled, federal education research has been slashed, and legal battles rage over the administration’s attempts to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in schools.

A conservative vision for education

An advocate of school choice programs and vocational training, McMahon has pledged to expand Pell Grants while promoting alternatives to traditional four-year degrees. However, her stance on restricting transgender student protections and scaling back DEI initiatives has drawn criticism from education advocates.
As McMahon takes office, in the US education sector the question still remains: Will the American education department witness an alteration, or will meet its end in the due course of time?