President Trump’s nominee for education secretary danced around the specifics of much-debated plans to shutter the Education Department during her U.S. Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday.
Linda McMahon, a professional-wrestling magnate and Trump ally who led the Small Business Administration during his first term, seemed to want to have it both ways — saying in one moment that she’d investigate and even consider pulling funding from colleges for alleged discrimination, and in another that she’d shrink the bureaucracy that handles such cases.
She didn’t have much to say about how civil-rights enforcement would happen without a department, saying she’d look into the issue once she got the job.
McMahon and Republican senators toggled between different words to refer to the department’s future, including “reorient,” “reorganize,” and “downsize.” McMahon also said repeatedly that she would not cut education funding. But Trump on Tuesday said he wants McMahon to “put herself out of a job.”
Some Democratic lawmakers said Thursday’s event had a strange dynamic, given that the department’s existence is in flux. The questioning felt “untethered from the reality on the ground,” Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey said. New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan added: “The whole hearing right now feels kind of surreal to me.”
The questioning was interrupted at times by protesters who were escorted out of the room by Capitol Police officers.
Here are five quotes from McMahon that tell the story of her confirmation hearing and what her leadership could mean for higher ed.
“The bureaucracy of it should be closed.”
McMahon acknowledged that dismantling the U.S. Department of Education would require an act of Congress, and said she would present a plan that lawmakers can get behind. She said there are some federal education responsibilities written into law that “we’d have to pay particular attention to.”
“We’d like to do this right,” she said.
McMahon added that she’s received clear directives from Trump about how to handle the department: “The bureaucracy of it should be closed.”
She said she has not spoken with billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, who is leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has faced criticism and a lawsuit over its access to private student information.
Asked about DOGE’s ongoing work in the Education Department, McMahon said that there are “a couple of implants” there and in other agencies doing “an audit.” She said her understanding was that the DOGE staff had been “onboarded as employees” in the Education Department; some Democrats questioned that characterization.
McMahon also faced questions about DOGE’s decision this week to eliminate nearly $900 million in contracts with the Education Department — mostly affecting the Institute of Education Sciences, its research and statistics arm, which provides access to a trove of data about student outcomes.
Asked what she’d do if Trump asked her to freeze money appropriated by Congress, McMahon said she would spend those dollars, but she said she also wants to “take a look at those programs before money goes out the door.”
“DEI, it’s a program that’s tough.”
McMahon said her goal as the education secretary would be to end “race-based programming” and “take the ideology out of education,” focusing instead on boosting students’ reading, writing, and math outcomes. She didn’t say more about her plans for doing so.
Eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across the public and private sectors, including at colleges, has emerged as a priority for Trump in his first weeks.
Last month, Trump signed two executive orders declaring that DEI was illegal but did not define why. Trump also directed federal agencies to identify colleges with endowments over $1 billion for potential investigations. (The anti-DEI orders were challenged in a lawsuit this month by the American Association of University Professors and the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.)
On Thursday, McMahon was noncommittal when asked about diversity efforts.
“DEI,” McMahon said, “it’s a program that’s tough.” She cited graduation ceremonies for specific identity groups as problematic.
Asked whether identity-based clubs would violate Trump’s anti-DEI orders, McMahon said she’d want to know more about what the clubs are doing.
Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, then asked McMahon whether educational efforts about specific racial groups, such as teaching African American history, would pass muster.
“I’m not quite certain,” McMahon said. “And I’d like to look into it further and get back to you on that.”
Since 2023, more than 240 colleges have made changes to diversity efforts, including cultural centers, offices, and jobs. That number has increased significantly since Trump took office, as college leaders try to interpret the president’s executive orders.
“They can call in the police.”
During her opening statement, McMahon asserted that two-thirds of public colleges every year were “beset by violent crime.” She also said the federal government needs to do a better job of helping “the college freshman facing censorship or antisemitism on campus.”
Asked about a surge in antisemitism reports and pro-Palestinian demonstrations since the war in Gaza began, McMahon said: “What we saw happening on our campuses was absolutely deplorable — kids locked in libraries afraid to come out.”
(McMahon appeared to be referring to an incident at Cooper Union in October of 2023, when students and others calling for the private New York institution to divest from Israel protested outside the campus library, shouting and banging on doors; several Jewish students were stuck inside for 20 minutes and told security officers that they felt unsafe. Some of those students sued the college; last week, a judge allowed their case to proceed.)
As education secretary, McMahon said she would ensure that college presidents “are taking very strong measures not to allow this to happen.”
“They can call in the police, they can do whatever they need to set standards, and to make sure those standards are upheld,” McMahon said. “We cannot allow that kind of violence to take place on our college campuses.”
Trump’s recent executive order to combat antisemitism called for aggressive enforcement of antidiscrimination laws and potential deportations of international students who protested against Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Republican senators asked if McMahon would launch investigations of colleges to ensure they were rooting out antisemitism.
“Those schools that accept federal funding that allow that to happen should face defunding,” McMahon said.
McMahon also said she is open to forming an antisemitism commission to evaluate colleges’ progress on tackling the issue.
“Four-year college is not for everyone.”
Echoing comments she’s made for years, McMahon said she supported more access to college alternatives, such as technical-education programs and apprenticeships, as well as dual-enrollment programs that allow high-school students to earn community-college credits.
“Four-year college is not for everyone,” she said.
Later, she said: “Parents are encouraging their children only to go to college and not necessarily recognizing that there are other avenues that those children could pursue.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Independent from Vermont, asked her to guarantee that no students would lose their Pell Grants “as the department is dismantled.” McMahon responded that she’d like to increase Pell Grants and open them up to short-term certificate programs, a policy known as Workforce Pell.
That financial aid could “stimulate our economy,” she said, and “get those students into the workplace faster.”
McMahon also said she would carry out student-loan forgiveness plans that have been passed by Congress, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness. In Trump’s first administration, the Education Department rejected nearly all PSLF applicants.
“Sexual harassment should be prohibited in any case.”
Trump last week signed an executive order barring transgender athletes from competing on teams aligned with their gender identity, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association promptly changed its policy. McMahon said she supported Trump’s move.
She also applauded a court’s decision last month to block former President Joe Biden’s attempt to enshrine gender-identity protections in the regulations governing Title IX, the sex-discrimination law. (Biden’s rule did not specifically address transgender athletes’ participation in sports.)
But when questioned about sexual harassment, McMahon contradicted the Trump administration’s own regulatory definition of Title IX. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Democrat of Wisconsin, asked whether the gender-equity law should protect students from harassment that’s severe or pervasive.
“Sexual harassment should be prohibited in any case,” McMahon replied.
The first Trump administration narrowed the definition of sexual harassment under Title IX, amid concerns that students were being falsely accused or seriously punished for minor incidents. Under Trump’s rule, harassment isn’t considered a Title IX issue unless it’s severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive — a higher standard than McMahon endorsed. Since that rule took effect, in 2020, colleges’ Title IX offices have tossed reports that didn’t meet the Title IX bar and directed students elsewhere.
McMahon also said colleges should be “obligated” to investigate and adjudicate sexual-misconduct cases that take place between students off campus. Trump’s rule does not require colleges to do so.
Baldwin later expressed concern over McMahon’s ability to protect students who experience sexual misconduct. McMahon been accused of failing to respond to sexual-abuse allegations as World Wrestling Entertainment’s chief executive, which she has denied.
