Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Wednesday defended the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to her agency as part of an overall effort to shutter her department — a goal she described as its “final mission.”
Testifying before the House Appropriations Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee, McMahon offered sparse details when pressed about cuts that have already been implemented, as well as the Trump administration’s so-called “skinny” budget request for fiscal 2026.
That request includes about $12 billion in cuts to federal education spending — about a 15 percent decrease from fiscal 2025.
McMahon said her top priorities as Education secretary are to improve literacy rates, increase school choice and return education to the states.
“Here we are today with a Department of Education that was really stood up in 1980 by President Carter,” McMahon said. “We’ve spent over $3 trillion during that time, and every year we have seen our scores continue to either stagnate or fall. It is clear that we are not doing something right.”
The largest proposed cut is aimed at K-12 programs, though McMahon said Wednesday that Title I-A, which allocates funds to schools with the highest percentages of children from low-income families, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which ensures access to free public education and support services for children with disabilities, will be funded in full.
The request also includes shifts in funding away from programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The budget would also shift the federal work study program for college students to the states and proposes an additional $60 million to expand the number of charter schools.
Democrats throughout the hearing largely drilled down on proposed and existing cuts to the department, while Republicans threw their support behind dissolving the agency and raised concerns about the state of American education.
When pressed by subcommittee and full committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., about the Trump administration’s reluctance to spend some funding signed into law under the latest stopgap spending bill, McMahon said she intends to “abide by the law.”
McMahon, who served as administrator of the Small Business Administration during President Donald Trump’s first term, has been on the same page as Trump with regard to dismantling the agency she currently leads, though she has acknowledged that fully folding the department would require congressional action. The eventual goal, the administration maintains, is to shift educational management and oversight to the states.
McMahon said at her Senate confirmation hearing that as the administration pushes to dismantle the department, she intended to “make sure that we are presenting a plan that I think our senators could get on board with, and our Congress could get on board with.” She reiterated that sentiment on Wednesday.
But Democrats had a different take.
“This budget, in my view, should be described as leaving every child behind,” DeLauro said, adding that McMahon and the Trump administration “will not have the partnership of Congress” as they attempt to eliminate the department.
Proposed cuts and expansions
Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, raised concerns with the nearly $1.6 billion in proposed fiscal 2026 cuts to bipartisan federal TRIO programs and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.
The programs are federal outreach student services and grant programs aimed at supporting low-income and first-generation students in attaining higher education opportunities. The administration in its “skinny” budget request called the programs “a relic of the past.”
Simpson said he wants to see the department’s studies about the impact of TRIO programs, which he sees as “one of the most effective programs in the federal government.”
McMahon said some aspects of TRIO are beneficial, but that “not all expenses in TRIO should be there,” adding that “we need more work-based projects teaching in our middle schools and high schools to prepare people to get into the economy.”
“Before you eliminate TRIO, I need to see what those programs are that you’re proposing, that we’re going to change it to,” Simpson said.
McMahon said cuts to the program were justified because of the existence of “more programs reaching into communities, and schools are being more active in recruiting those schools — and if they’re not, they should be.”
“Let us see the studies,” DeLauro said. “As Mr. Simpson pointed out, we just want to see it. And the decision-making. What was this based on, except someone’s whim or idea.”
The fiscal 2026 hearing comes amid a backdrop of budget reconciliation negotiations. Those talks include a sweeping proposal from House Republicans to allocate $5 billion a year for a tax break for families who send their children to private and religious schools.
School choice has long been a priority for Republicans, and Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., touted the provision as a step toward educational improvements.
“The answer is always competition,” Harris said. “That is what makes America great. That’s what makes almost every aspect of America great, is competition.”
Republicans also highlighted the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back protection for transgender students and address the rise of antisemitism on college campuses, while Democrats criticized cuts to areas of the Department of Education like the Office of Civil Rights.
Drilling in on DOGE
In March, the Department of Education announced a workforce reduction that would cut nearly 50 percent of employees — though McMahon said Wednesday that a majority of those cuts came before she arrived. Also in March, Trump signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the agency.
When asked about the nature of Department of Government Efficiency employees working within the Education Department, McMahon was able to provide limited details about their educational experience and professional background, saying she didn’t interview them.
Pressed about the fact that some agency employees’ roles were eliminated in the cuts, only for them to be brought back, McMahon said it was a necessary part of the reorganization process.
“When you are restructuring a company, you hope that you’re just cutting fat,” McMahon said. “Sometimes you cut a little into the muscle. You realize it as you’re continuing your programs. And you can bring people back to do that.”
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., asked McMahon whether billionaire Elon Musk has any contracts with the Department of Education — and McMahon initially said she wasn’t sure.
“You don’t know if Elon Musk has any contracts in your department, and you’ve met with him multiple times?” Pocan said.
“Elon Musk doesn’t have contracts in my department,” she replied. “Not to my knowledge.”
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