(NewsNation) — Newly confirmed Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon believes student loans, Pell Grants and other federal aid “might best be served in another department,” though it’s unclear which that would be.
“We’re looking at them all across the board, and how can they be best handled if the Department of Education, you know, does not exist,” McMahon told “NewsNation Live” on Friday.
McMahon reiterated that her “mission” of dissolving the department she’s tasked with leading has not changed — but even if the department shutters, she said federal funding isn’t expected to end.
“This is not a turn off the lights and walk out of the department,” McMahon said. “It’s with close consultation with Congress and looking how the needs of students can best be serviced.”
Linda McMahon: Executive order doesn’t change Education Department ‘mission’
Trump on Thursday was expected to sign an executive order asking McMahon to dissolve the agency she’s tasked with leading, though the White House later reversed course. An official told NewsNation the administration will continue to review the department in the meantime.
“The President campaigned on this. He’s been crystal clear that he wants to see the Department of Education closed, and he’d like to see it done sooner rather than later,” McMahon said. “But he understands that we need to work with Congress. There are certain things that are in statute.”
McMahon said she feels her job is to secure the administration the 60 necessary Senate votes — and Congressional approval — to dissolve the department.
“I think my job is to convince Congress that the steps that we are taking are in the best interest of the kids,” McMahon said.
The department has been on the chopping block since Trump’s presidential campaign, when he advocated for giving education power to the states.
Linda McMahon on why Department of Education should close
McMahon pointed to declining test scores and rising departmental costs as the main reasons for closing the department.
“We cannot direct these things from Washington. They have to be done on a local basis, and that’s why the challenge at all schools is to make sure that each child has the ability to be educated to their level,” McMahon said.
McMahon and Trump are staunch advocates of school choice and state-run education. McMahon decried the bureaucracy surrounding schooling.
“Let the teachers be innovative. Let them teach. I think you’re going to see scores come up,” she told NewsNation.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., believes the federal government does an “abysmal” job of handling all programs, including public education.
“Far better to be controlled at the state and local level than having any federal government involvement whatsoever,” Johnson told NewsNation.
While it’s true that America’s children have consistently fallen behind in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, some education advocates fear a shift to state-run education could actually leave students with fewer resources.
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association union, said downsizing the department or dissolving it altogether is counterproductive to raising national test scores.
“Our students need those additional one-on-one supports. They need smaller class sizes. They need technology that allows them to be competitive in this world. They need more support, not less,” Pringle said.
300+ workers took Education Department buyout: Linda McMahon
The Education Department sent an email to employees Feb. 28 offering a $25,000 cash payout if they resigned by Monday, March 3, at midnight.
McMahon told NewsNation on Friday that “over 300 people” accepted the payout during the four-day window.
The buyouts are part of what McMahon called an “audit” from the Department of Government Efficiency. The Elon Musk-led task force has been examining federal agencies for alleged waste and has enacted sweeping layoffs.
“They’ve certainly shown us that some of the programs that we were looking at, we could do without and save money,” McMahon said.
She also confirmed that agency heads, not Musk, hold the ultimate power to determine whether to move forward on DOGE’s recommendations
Education Department investigating 5 universities over protests
The president has threatened to pull federal funding from five college campuses over what he called “illegal” pro-Palestinian protests. He also vowed to permanently expel or arrest any “agitators” participating in the protests.
The schools include Columbia University, Northwestern University, Portland State University, the University of Minnesota and the University of California, Berkeley, the Associated Press reported.
Trump has called for aggressive action to fight antisemitism on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in the rallies.
McMahon backed Trump’s stance on the issue, telling NewsNation, “This is not a question of free speech.”
“This is a question of violence on campus,” she said. “This is a question of students being afraid to go to class or to walk around campus … Jewish students who are just really being discriminated against.”
McMahon said the administration is “going to be very strong in our policies” to withhold federal funding from implicated colleges and universities.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.