Secretary of Education

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the head of the U.S. Department of Education
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, former Administrator of Small Business Administration, speaks during the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee.
Linda McMahon, former Administrator of Small Business Administration, speaks during the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal Explainer 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.
Education Week Library Staff, March 4, 2025
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2 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
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
Linda McMahon, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, speaks during a panel at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington on Jan. 16, 2018. The panel features women from various backgrounds and experiences who will speak with women in the administration, about what has been accomplished to date to advance women at home, and in the workplace.
Linda McMahon, then the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, speaks at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Jan. 16, 2018. The former wrestling mogul appeals before senators on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, for her confirmation hearing to serve as secretary of education.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Federal Linda McMahon's Confirmation Hearing: Watch Live
McMahon will appear before the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee Thursday morning at 10 a.m.
Brooke Schultz, February 12, 2025
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3 min read
From left, Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency nominee; Kash Patel, FBI director nominee; Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense nominee; and Linda McMahon, education secretary nominee; gesture after the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
From left, Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Kash Patel, nominee to serve as FBI director nominee; Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense; and Linda McMahon, nominee to serve as education secretary gesture after President Donald Trump's inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2025. McMahon will appear before senators on Thursday for her confirmation hearing.
Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP
Federal Linda McMahon Will Make Her Case to Lead Ed. Dept. as Trump Tries to Shrink It
The wrestling mogul Trump has selected to serve as education secretary will likely have to answer for moves the president has already made.
Brooke Schultz, February 10, 2025
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4 min read
Former U.S. Secretaries of Education Arne Duncan, John King, and Margaret Spellings discuss the future of the U.S. Department of Education.
From left, former education secretaries Margaret Spellings, John King, and Arne Duncan. The three former agency heads, who served during the Bush and Obama administrations respectively, discussed the future of the U.S. Department of Education during a Jan. 21, 2025, event hosted by the Brookings Institution.
Gerry Broome, Susan Walsh, Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Federal What 3 Former Education Secretaries Think of Their Old Department's Future
Though President Donald Trump’s first-term proposal to end the agency didn't materialize, he renewed the campaign promise last year.
Brooke Schultz, January 21, 2025
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6 min read
The U.S. Department of Education, in Washington, D.C., pictured on February 21, 2021.
The U.S. Department of Education, in Washington, D.C., pictured on Feb. 21, 2021.
Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP Images
Federal Trump Names Acting Education Secretary Ahead of Linda McMahon's Confirmation
Denise Carter will fill the role until President Donald Trump's pick, Linda McMahon, is confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Brooke Schultz, January 20, 2025
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2 min read
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona speaks during “The Impact: Our Fight for Public Education” event at the Department of Education’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 14, 2025.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona speaks during “The Impact: Our Fight for Public Education” event at the Department of Education’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 14, 2025. The event served as the capstone to Cardona's four years as education secretary under President Joe Biden.
Alyssa Schukar for Education Week
Federal As Biden Leaves Office, What Will His Education Legacy Be?
Biden's term was marked by unprecedented funding for schools, but no aggressive policy agenda. Did his administration do enough?
Brooke Schultz, January 15, 2025
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12 min read
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