White House plans to dismantle Education Department; sparking debate

Linda McMahon faces Senate approval to lead agency Trump wants to abolish, sparking debate on education reform.

Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick for education secretary faces an unusual test on Thursday (February 13, 2025) as she seeks Senate approval to lead an agency the president wants her to destroy.

The Republican president has promised to close the agency, saying it has been infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists.”

A plan being considered by the White House would direct the education secretary to dismantle the department as much as legally possible while asking Congress to abolish it completely.

At a White House news conference last week, Mr. Trump said he wanted McMahon “to put herself out of a job.”

Mr. Trump has yet to sign an order on the department’s shutdown, and some of McMahon’s advisers pressed to delay it until after her hearing. Yet it’s expected to be the central subject of Thursday's hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Democrats have been gearing up to grill McMahon on her willingness to execute Trump’s plan, which opponents say would undermine public education. Mr. Trump hasn’t said whether he would preserve the core work of the agency, which sends billions of dollars a year to schools, manages a $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio and enforces civil rights in education.

In a letter to Ms. McMahon this week, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim said she’ll be asked if she supports Trump’s plan, and what action she will take to carry it out. It asks Ms. McMahon for commitments to preserve the department’s student loan operations and civil rights office, among other programs highlighted by the Democrats.