Senate Confirms Linda McMahon as Education Secretary

The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed Linda McMahon as Secretary of the Department of Education.

Senators voted along party lines 51-45 to confirm McMahon, following her confirmation hearing last month in which the Senate HELP Committee voted 12 to 11 in favor of her nomination.

“Mrs. McMahon is an accomplished businesswoman and public servant. She’s known for her role in building World Wrestling Entertainment — better known as WWE — from a small operation to a large and thriving enterprise, and she has used her success to give back and make a positive impact,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said ahead of the vote.

“Mrs. McMahon led efforts to promote reading and civic engagement through WWE. She spent 16 years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in her home state of Connecticut. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education, and in his first term, President Trump tapped Linda McMahon to lead the Small Business Administration, where she was known for listening to small businesses to make the SBA a more effective agency,” he continued. “She will bring valuable experience, an incredible work ethic and a passion for education to her new role, leading the Department of Education.”

McMahon’s confirmation hearing in February was largely civil, as she discussed how to wind down the U.S. Department of Education while prioritizing students and parents and promoting school choice. She specifically stated that the Trump administration is not looking to cut funding from schools appropriated by Congress and contended that the department’s critical functions should be moved to other federal agencies.

McMahon said at the hearing that her experience as co-founder and former CEO of WWE, leader of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term, and her service on the Connecticut Board of Education and as member of the Board of Trustees at Sacred Heart University has taught her to “put parents, teachers, and students — not bureaucracy — first.”

“Outstanding teachers are tired of political ideology in their curriculum and red tape on their desks,” she said. “And that’s why school choice is a growing movement across the nation. It offers teachers and parents an alternative to classrooms that are micromanaged from Washington, DC.”

In a statement following her confirmation, McMahon thanked President Donald Trump and emphasized that the department “will be focused on advancing education freedom, not building up government-run systems.” She said:

I am deeply grateful to President Trump for his trust in me to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of Education. I am prepared to lead the Department in this transformational time and embrace the challenge to improve the education system for the more than 100 million children and college students who deserve better.

Education is the issue that determines our national success and prepares American workers to win the future. Every decision made at the Department will be driven by a commitment to support meaningful learning and empower our most important stakeholders: students, families, and teachers. The Department will be focused on advancing education freedom, not building up government-run systems. We will empower states and districts to have more say in what is working on the ground for students instead of bureaucratic edicts from Washington, D.C.

President Trump pledged to make American education the best in the world, return education to the states where it belongs, and free American students from the education bureaucracy through school choice. I intend to make good on that promise.

Ahead of McMahon’s confirmation, the Department of Education under President Trump has been tackling rampant spending, eliminating divisive diversity, equity, and inclusion materials and policies, and protecting women’s and girls’ sports teams.

Ultimately, President Trump said he wants to see the Department of Education abolished and more power sent back to states and communities, and he has quipped that he wants McMahon “to put herself out of a job.” The 45th and 47th president is expected to soon sign an executive order to dismantle the department, however, officially ending the department would take an act of Congress since it was Congress who created it 45 years ago under President Jimmy Carter.

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.