Linda McMahon spars with Democrats over Trump’s education cuts, civil rights downsizing, and school choice plans.

Fiery Hearing Exposes Sharp Divides on Education Policy

Education Secretary Linda McMahon faced intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill Wednesday during a heated House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, defending President Donald Trump’s proposed $12 billion cut to the Department of Education. The reduction, which amounts to a 15% budget decrease, is part of a broader strategy to shift control over education from the federal government back to states, parents, and local educators.

McMahon outlined what she called the department’s “final mission,” emphasizing the need to refocus on fundamentals such as literacy. “Let’s focus on literacy. What we’re seeing in those scores is a failure of our students to learn to read,” she said. “We’ve lost the fundamentals.”

The plan consolidates 18 federal programs into a single $2 billion block grant to states. It also proposes a $60 million increase in charter school funding. “We’ve got about a million students on charter school waiting lists,” McMahon noted. “Parents should be deciding where their children can go to school and get the best education.”

But the hearing turned contentious when Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., pressed McMahon on civil rights protections and racial discrimination. “Do you believe that there is illegal discrimination against people who are Black or brown, and other types of discrimination in jobs and education in this country?” Watson Coleman asked.

“I think it still exists in some areas,” McMahon replied.

Watson Coleman challenged the administration’s staffing reductions in the Office of Civil Rights, calling the changes an attack on protections for marginalized communities. She accused the administration of “favoritism and prioritization of white over color.”

“Your rhetoric means nothing to me,” Watson Coleman said sharply. “What means something to me is the actions of this administration... And you should feel shameful to be engaged with an administration that doesn’t give a damn.”

McMahon remained composed, responding, “I am the secretary of Education who has been approved to run this agency by Congress... The direction of [the president’s] administration is what I will follow.”

Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif., also criticized McMahon for failing to defend early childhood education, particularly Head Start. “Every Head Start program in the country has three days of funding,” he said. McMahon acknowledged the importance of early education but maintained, “I don’t believe the federal government is responsible for everything. That’s where states can lead.”

Republicans praised the proposed overhaul. Chairman Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., pointed to stagnant achievement scores despite massive federal investment. “The answer is not more money. It’s more accountability and local control,” he said.

McMahon also touted the resumption of student loan collections following years of pauses. “Since we restarted collections in May, we have recovered nearly $100 million,” she said. Administrative restructuring and staffing reductions, she added, have allowed the department to fulfill its statutory duties more efficiently.

The Trump administration defended its approach, describing the Department of Education as an outdated bureaucracy created for political gain. McMahon emphasized that her role was to carry out the administration’s mandate to deliver better outcomes for students through decentralized decision-making and educational choice.