Two Democratic senators are pressing President Trump’s Education Department secretary pick Linda McMahon over her “minimal” experience in education policy and broader views on education ahead of her confirmation hearing Thursday.
“[Y]ou have a minimal track record on education issues and strikingly little experience pertaining to education policy,” Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote in a letter to McMahon on Tuesday.
“This lack of a public record means that the American people have not been afforded the opportunity to evaluate your views on topics related to the Education Secretary’s core responsibilities,” the senators added.
McMahon, who served in Trump’s first term as administrator of the Small Business Administration, is best known for serving as head of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for decades. She served for a year on the Connecticut Board of Education in 2009 and for several years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
The Senate Democrats said they want to know more from McMahon about her views relating “to the student loan system and higher education affordability, and the extent to which they overlap with certain extreme stances taken by President Trump, his Project 2025 allies” and former education officials.
The senators listed dozens of questions they want McMahon to be prepared to answer on Thursday, with the first set related to Trump’s plan to dimish the Department of Education. They want to know if McMahon supports this effort and if she will commit to not weakening or eliminating certain programs such as administering federal student aid.
Trump has pushed to dismantle the Education Department and has charged billionaire ally Elon Musk with slashing billions of dollars in federal spending. Musk has cheered on efforts to gut the agency, declaring on social media at one point late last week that the department “doesn’t exist.”
Other questions the Democrats want McMahon to be prepared for will be about Project 2025 and the student loan system.
“We need a higher education system that is accessible to all Americans, not just those with the means to afford skyrocketing costs without taking on student debt. The next Secretary of Education must fight for the best interests of students and families, not greedy and predatory for-profit colleges and inept loan servicers, and must reject extreme policies and efforts to eliminate the Department,” they wrote.
“We ask that you come to your hearing prepared to provide answers to our questions so that the Senate—and the American people—can better understand your policy positions and how you would lead ED,” the senators concluded.
Trump has praised his Education secretary pick while saying he wants her to put herself “out of a job” amid efforts to end the department.