By Breccan F. Thies | The Federalist
The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Linda McMahon as the Secretary of Education on Monday evening, setting in motion the full force of the Trump administration’s plans to end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and radical gender ideology in schools, as well as empower states and localities to make their own education decisions.
McMahon, who previously led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term, was confirmed 51-45. The vote followed testimony where McMahon signposted goals of the Trump administration to significantly reduce the bureaucratic control of education from a federal level and rework federal education dollars into a system that allows states and localities to make decisions. The Trump administration has made clear that the goal is not to reduce federal education dollars, but to administer them through mechanisms like block grants, which give distribution authority to states.
“[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,” she said at her confirmation hearing last month. “Education is the issue that determines our national success and prepares American workers to win the future.”