Last Thursday, Linda McMahon, nominee for secretary of education, was questioned during her Senate confirmation hearing about her plans to continue funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and the Pell Grant, among other key issues.
Earlier this month McMahon met with Howard University President Ben Vinson III, where she vowed to continue supporting programs offered by the university, according to The Grio. She also expressed support for continued funding for HBCUs and the Pell Grant, which benefits 45% of Howard’s student population.
Senators such as Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn. questioned McMahon’s stance on a number of hot button topics such as Title IX enforcement for students on college campuses, according to CT Mirror.
McMahon agreed that Title IX was necessary and should be enforced but faced further challenging due to the child abuse lawsuit against her and her husband, Vince McMahon, raising concerns for some Department of Education (DOE) employees, according to NBC News.
She was also unable to provide a definitive answer to Sen. Murphy’s question about whether teaching Black history courses would violate President Donald Trump’s order on classroom diversity.
“I’d like to look into it further and get back to you on that,” she said.
Additionally, McMahon called for expanded school choice programs, with an increased focus on apprenticeships and alternatives to traditional college degrees.
This confirmation hearing is the beginning of determining whether McMahon will officially become the secretary of DOE.
The hearing allowed senators to question how she would manage the department. If sworn in as secretary, she will play a key role in shaping national education standards, funding and initiatives, according to the DOE.
Senators raised several questions about McMahon’s nomination, particularly as it follows Trump’s vow to dismantle the DOE.
These programs are particularly beneficial to low-income and disabled students. Without the DOE, some public school educators fear these programs could be diminished, according to ABC News.
According to AP News, she suggested increasing efficiency by delegating legislation such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for students with disabilities through other departments like the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
A recurring theme during the hearing was the importance of choice for families—specifically, the ability to decide where children attend school and the type of education they receive.
This included options such as charter and private schools, public schools outside of their district, and the impact of school voucher programs, whether beneficial or detrimental.
McMahon expressed support for the vouchers, despite the negative academic and fiscal impact in states that have enacted them, according to the National Education Association.
Other senators including Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska expressed concern over the voucher programs. She said, “There are no private schools in many parts of my state. In these communities, there is no other choice.”
McMahon’s background includes being the co-founder of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the 25th administrator for the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term, a member of the Connecticut Board of Education and trustee of Sacred Heart University.
Despite affirming the Trump administration’s mission to dismantle the DOE, she expressed wanting support from senators to come up with a solution they can all agree on.
“We’d like to make sure that we are presenting a plan that I think our senators and Congress could get on board with, which would have a better functioning Department of Education,” McMahon said.
She said the president’s goal was“not to defund key programs, but to have them operate more efficiently.”
Copy edited by Aniyah Genama
