Linda McMahon

Read our coverage of the 13th U.S. Education Secretary

Explainer

Linda McMahon, former Administrator of Small Business Administration, speaks during the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee.
Linda McMahon, U.S. Secretary of Education: Background and Achievements
Background and highlights of Linda McMahon's tenure as the 13th U.S. Secretary of Education.
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Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks at the ASU+GSV Summit at the Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego on April 8, 2025.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks at the ASU+GSV Summit at the Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego on April 8, 2025.
Ariana Drehsler for Education Week
Federal Viral AI Gaffe and Ed. Dept. Cuts: How Educators View Linda McMahon So Far
Here's what educators think about the education secretary's performance so far.
Jennifer Vilcarino, April 17, 2025
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6 min read
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks at the ASU + GSV Summit at the Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego, Calif., on April 8, 2025.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks at the ASU+GSV Summit at the Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego on April 8, 2025. She defended recent cuts to the federal Education Department and said she hoped an expansion of school choice would be part of her legacy.
Ariana Drehsler for Education Week
Federal Defending Ed. Dept. Cuts, Linda McMahon Says It's Time to 'Do Something Different'
Linda McMahon told ed-tech entrepreneurs she wants to cut bureaucracy but keep key federal funds flowing to schools.
Brooke Schultz, April 8, 2025
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8 min read
Person thinking to enter money maze puzzle.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding States Urge McMahon to Restore Federal Funds She Canceled Without Notice
New York's education department threatened legal action if the federal government doesn't restore pandemic relief funds.
Mark Lieberman, April 4, 2025
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10 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives before President Donald Trump attends a reception for Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Washington.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives before President Donald Trump attends a reception for Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Washington. In a letter Friday, McMahon told state leaders on March 28 that their time to spend remaining COVID relief funds would end that same day.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Federal Linda McMahon Abruptly Tells States Their Time to Spend COVID Relief Has Passed
Secretary Linda McMahon said the Education Department would no longer honor the extensions it had granted states.
Brooke Schultz, March 28, 2025
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3 min read
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025. McMahon said that the U.S. Department of Education would make a "revitalized effort" to pursue federal student privacy law violations for parents' rights, asserting that school "gender plans" that aren't available to parents violate the federal law.
Ben Curtis/AP
Federal McMahon Says Schools With 'Gender Plans' Could Be Violating Federal Privacy Law
The U.S. Department of Education opened investigations under FERPA into two states, alleging violations of parents' rights.
Brooke Schultz, March 28, 2025
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5 min read
President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order alongside Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025.
President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order alongside Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025.
Ben Curtis/AP
Federal Trump Order Tells Linda McMahon to 'Facilitate' Education Department's Closure
An executive order the president signed Thursday directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to prepare the 45-year-old agency for shutdown.
Brooke Schultz, March 20, 2025
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4 min read
Sword of Damocles threat, risk concept, metaphor - large knife tied and suspended over an apple. Cuts to department of Education.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty Images
Federal Opinion Linda McMahon's Fake 'Mission': The States Already Control Education
Dismantling the Ed. Dept. is not a matter of giving power back to the states but of making education less equal from state to state.
Peter Cunningham, March 10, 2025
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4 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 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. The draft text of an executive order directs the newly sworn-in secretary of education to take steps to prepare for the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education.
Graeme Sloan for Education Week
Federal Draft of Trump Order Tells Linda McMahon to Prepare for Ed. Dept.'s Dismantling
The draft executive order says that "the federal bureaucratic hold on education must end."
Brooke Schultz, March 6, 2025
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10 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
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