WASHINGTON — Linda McMahon wasted no time in informing U.S. Education Department employees in an email titled “Our Department’s Final Mission” of her plans to “overhaul” the federal agency.
McMahon, who was sworn in shortly after the Senate confirmed her bid on a party-line vote Monday evening, is already carrying out President Donald Trump’s sweeping education vision, which, she says, includes “returning education to the states and empowering all parents to choose an excellent education for their children.”
Trump, who has stated that he wants McMahon “to put herself out of a job,” could soon issue an executive order outlining his plans to reduce the department, though it would require an act of Congress to abolish it entirely. The email, which was also posted on the Education Department’s website, made no mention of any upcoming executive orders.
McMahon is a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive who led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term.
She is now in charge of the department, which, among other things, enforces civil rights laws, provides funding to low-income school districts, administers federal student aid, and ensures a free public education for disabled children.
However, the push to return education “back to the states” stems from the fact that much of school funding and oversight already occurs at the state and local levels. In general, the federal government has little control over school curricula across the country.
“The Department of Education’s role in this new era of accountability is to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington,” McMahon wrote to department employees, who have already seen dramatic shifts in the weeks since Trump took office.
“This restoration will profoundly impact staff, budgets, and agency operations here at the Department,” she added, noting that in the coming months, the department would collaborate with Congress and other federal agencies to “determine the best path forward to fulfill the expectations of the President and the American people.”
“We will eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy so that our colleges, K-12 schools, students, and teachers can innovate and thrive,” she told the crowd.
In January, Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie reintroduced legislation in the House that would “terminate” the department.
Parental Rights, DEI
McMahon highlighted three of the department’s “convictions,” including the administration’s push for parental rights, which is a key component of Trump’s education platform.
According to her, “taxpayer-funded education should refocus on meaningful learning in math, reading, science, and history — not divisive DEI programs and gender ideology” or “postsecondary education should be a path to a well-paying career aligned with workforce needs.”
Even before McMahon was confirmed as Education Secretary, Trump issued a series of education-related executive orders, including one prioritizing school choice funding and another aimed at ending what the administration considers “radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling.”
He also kept his long-standing campaign promise to prohibit transgender athletes from competing on women’s school sports teams based on their gender identity. A Republican-led effort in the United States Senate to help codify that executive order into law failed on Monday.
