McMahon Confirmed for “Final Mission”
Linda McMahon was confirmed as Secretary of Education on a party-line vote in the Senate, quickly sworn in, and on her first day, issued a memo to staff about her vision for the agency’s “final mission.” President Trump said he nominated McMahon to “put herself out of a job,” and in step she laid out three “convictions” for the Department to follow as it works to “restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington:”
- Parents are the primary decision makers in their children’s education.
- Taxpayer-funded education should refocus on meaningful learning in math, reading, science, and history—not divisive diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and gender ideology.
- Postsecondary education should be a path to a well-paying career aligned with workforce needs.
What this means for higher education remains to be seen, but the action by the Trump Administration to date provides a sense of what to expect. That includes funding cuts or program eliminations, reviewing programs for practices seen as discriminatory, investigating institutions that do not protect students, and reducing regulations. The memo does not address federal student aid other than to note that college students have debt for degrees without “meaningful return on investment.”
McMahon said in her confirmation hearing, and reiterated in the memo, that she plans to work with Congress and other federal agencies to overhaul the Department for a new era of accountability.
For more information, please contact:
Jody Feder