Washington – The United States Senate voted Monday to confirm Linda McMahon, a billionaire GOP donor and former wrestling industry executive, as the next secretary of education.
The approval was expected from the Republican-controlled chamber, where conservative lawmakers have supported even President Donald Trump’s most controversial Cabinet picks. The vote was 51 to 45 in her favor.
She now faces the challenge of running an agency that her boss has stated he wants “closed immediately.” Education Department employees are already dealing with massive upheaval and layoffs, with more on the way.
Last month, the president told reporters in the Oval Office that McMahon should “put herself out of a job.” In recent weeks, the White House has considered steps to dismantle the Education Department, but only Congress has the authority to formally abolish a federal agency.
McMahon appeared to appreciate the limits to presidential power during her confirmation hearing on February 13.
“We’d like to do this right,” she stated, later adding that the Education Department “clearly could not be shut down without” Congress.
Meanwhile, many student loan repayment plans have been paused. Elon Musk’s efficiency team has gutted the federal government’s educational research apparatus. Fears of immigration raids are affecting student attendance coast to coast. And school administrators across the country are consulting with lawyers to determine whether they will be required to comply with the Trump administration’s demands to halt diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
McMahon has been a staunch supporter of conservative education priorities, such as school choice programs, which allow families to use public funds to subsidize nonprivate schooling, and policies that limit transgender students’ inclusion.
Though she supports expanding Pell Grants, she has also advocated for college alternatives, stating at her confirmation hearing that the federal government should “build up careers, not college debt.”