Congress

Read more about members of Congress and the polices they enact that impact K-12 education
Students eat lunch in the cafeteria at Lowell Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Aug. 22, 2023.
Students eat lunch in the cafeteria at Lowell Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Aug. 22, 2023. A proposal by congressional Republicans would force 24,000 schools out of a program that allows them to serve federally subsidized free school meals to all students, a new analysis finds.
Susan Montoya Bryan/AP
School & District Management Congressional Budget Cuts Threaten Free School Meals for Millions
More than 12 million children could lose access to federally subsidized free school meals if Congress changes program requirements.
Evie Blad & Arianna Prothero, March 13, 2025
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5 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Federal Opinion Under Trump, the Chairman of the House Ed. Committee Lays Out His Agenda
Rep. Tim Walberg shares the committee's priorities for K-12 education, including "streamlining" the education department.
Rick Hess, March 11, 2025
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9 min read
A photograph of a stack of dollar bills frozen inside of a large block of ice on a white background
iStock/Getty
Education Funding Education Groups Demand Congress' Help to Reverse Trump's Grant Terminations
More than 100 education organizations want top congressional lawmakers to help reinstate grant funding for teacher prep programs.
Mark Lieberman, March 4, 2025
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5 min read
Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.
Linda McMahon testifies during her Feb. 13, 2025, confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at the U.S. Capitol. The Senate has confirmed McMahon to serve as the next secretary of education.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal Linda McMahon Is Confirmed by Senate as Education Secretary
The former wrestling mogul will become the nation's 13th secretary of education, and she has pledged to be its last.
Brooke Schultz & Matthew Stone, March 3, 2025
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4 min read
Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.
Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025. The committee on Feb. 20 voted to advance McMahon's nomination to the full Senate in a party-line vote.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal Linda McMahon’s Nomination as Trump's Education Secretary Heads to Senate Floor
Senators in the education committee voted to approve McMahon’s nomination. Her nomination will now go to the full Senate for final approval.
Brooke Schultz, February 20, 2025
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3 min read
A shouting protester is removed from the hearing room as Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025. A shouting protester is removed from the hearing room as Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, February 13, 2025. (Graeme Sloan for Education Week)
A shouting protester is removed from the hearing room as Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal Trump’s 4th Week: Musk’s Team Pushes Ed. Dept. Cuts as McMahon Faces Senators
Linda McMahon appeared before U.S. senators, answering for an already turbulent time at the Education Department before she's taken charge.
Brooke Schultz, February 14, 2025
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6 min read
Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, arrives for her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.
Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, arrives for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal 5 Key Takeaways From Linda McMahon's Confirmation Hearing
President Trump's education secretary nominee pledged to maintain school funding even as she works to end the U.S. Department of Education.
Brooke Schultz, February 13, 2025
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6 min read
Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.
Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal Linda McMahon Backs Trump’s Push to Dismantle Ed. Dept.: 'It's Not Working'
McMahon faced lawmakers' questions amid changes to the Education Department that are already underway.
Brooke Schultz, February 13, 2025
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5 min read
Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) greet Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, before her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, greet Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of education, before her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal McMahon Declines to Say If Black History Classes Are Allowed Under Trump Order
The comment came during an exchange with Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., about Trump's executive order on "radical indoctrination."
Mark Lieberman, February 13, 2025
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3 min read
Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on Feb. 13, 2025.
Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal Linda McMahon Says Trump Can't Eliminate Ed. Dept. Without Congress
Eliminating the education department wouldn't mean reducing funding for schools, Trump's education secretary nominee said.
Mark Lieberman, February 13, 2025
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3 min read
The U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., is pictured on Feb. 21, 2021.
The U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., is pictured on Feb. 21, 2021. President Donald Trump could issue an executive order to downsize the department. It would have limitations.
Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP
Federal Can Trump Ax the Education Department Without Congress?
Trump has been flexing his power through executive orders, and there's the potential for one targeting the Education Department.
Brooke Schultz, February 5, 2025
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7 min read
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., speaks during an event at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit on Dec. 9, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., speaks at the U.N. Climate Summit on Dec. 9, 2023, in Dubai. Walberg, the newly minted chair of the U.S. House's education and workforce committee, said at a Tuesday event that he wouldn't stand in the way of President Donald Trump's efforts to diminish or close the U.S. Department of Education.
Joshua A. Bickel/AP
Federal Top House Lawmaker Supports Trump's Bid to 'Depower' Education Department
The House education committee chairman believes "even the best-meaning bureaucrat" can't understand what's happening in local schools.
Alyson Klein, February 4, 2025
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5 min read
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on March 6, 2021.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on March 6, 2021. He has criticized the Trump Administration's move in January 2025 to nix a school safety panel created by federal legisation.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal Schumer Tells Trump to Immediately Reinstate School Safety Board
Trump must immediately reinstate a federal school safety board, Schumer demanded.
Evie Blad, January 27, 2025
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2 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Federal Opinion ‘Budget Reconciliation’ Sounds Like Wonkspeak. But It Matters for Schools
It won’t enable the Trump administration to make cuts to K-12 programs or abolish the Ed. Department, but it will have other implications.
Rick Hess, January 21, 2025
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9 min read
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