Education Secretary Linda McMahon told the Daily Caller on Tuesday that she was “fully aware” that her administration job would be to eliminate her own position as she and President Trump prepared for his second term in the White House.
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that directed the Secretary of Education to take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States.” Both Trump and McMahon have talked about fully eliminating the department, which would require Congressional approval. McMahon told the Caller that she knew she was signing up for a temporary job when Trump spoke to her about taking the top education post.
“Bear in mind that I also served as co-chair of the transition committee, so I was fully on board all along with all of the [president’s ] thought process,” McMahon told the Caller, noting that Trump had continuously touted his plans on the campaign trail. “I was fully aware of the job that I was assuming and he was very clear with me, and then asked me about my willingness to do this.”
“He always knew my interest in education. The fact that I served on a board of trustees for university for 16 years, and been on the State Board of Education in Connecticut. I had some background and had done some research in education, and I had some really strong ideas and strong opinions, and he liked our conversation, and so I agreed to do this,” the education secretary told the Caller.
Trump’s executive order does not tell McMahon where to move each function of the department, but that is something the secretary is looking at, she previously told the Caller. For example, the Office of Civil Rights may end up in the Department of Justice, McMahon hinted. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Linda McMahon Prepares To Shut Down Department Of Education Following Trump’s Order)
“The Department of Justice already has the Civil Rights Office, and I think that there is an opportunity to discuss with Attorney General Bondi about locating some of our civil rights work there,” @EDSecMcMahon tells me about what will happen to the Office of Civil Rights, which… pic.twitter.com/W3pecX5Z6A
— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) March 20, 2025
The administration has repeatedly pointed to previous student achievement scores when justifying its decision to dismantle the Education Department. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress data, released in January, showed that in 2024, one-third of eighth graders, the largest percentage on record, failed to reach reading level expectations. Students’ scores in reading have been on a decline since 2019. (RELATED: Soaring Levels Of Non-English Speaking Students May Be Driving National Reading Test Scores Into Ground)
“Since 1979, the U.S. Department of Education has spent over $3 trillion with virtually nothing to show for it,” the White House wrote in a fact sheet. “Despite per-pupil spending having increased by more than 245% over that period, there has been virtually no measurable improvement in student achievement.”
Joined by children seated at school desks, U.S. President Donald Trump holds up the signed executive order to reduce the size and scope of the Education Department during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on March 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
While Trump’s executive order calls for the dismantling of the department, both he and the secretary have talked about axing the sector of the federal government. McMahon mentioned to reporters on Tuesday that her department will be working with Congress on the dismantling but also on codifying the president’s executive order.
“So working in partnership with Congress, I met with Senator Rounds yesterday. We had a really good conversation, because he was one of the first ones to hop out and talk about how we would take away the Department of Education and make sure the states were more responsible for their programs,” McMahon told reporters.
“And Senator Cassidy and I, He chairs the Health Committee, he wants to introduce legislation [to eliminate the department] as well, so we will be working lock stepping with Congress by the time they do vote for that, which I hope eventually, we will convince them that the best education we can provide for students is at the state level and not through the bureaucracy in Washington,” she added.
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