McMahon confirmed to lead Education Department ahead of anticipated layoffs

The Senate on Monday confirmed, 51-45, Linda McMahon as Education secretary ahead of expected layoffs at the department she will be leading. 

President Donald Trump has said that he wants to eliminate the Education Department. McMahon acknowledged during her confirmation hearing on Feb. 13 that such an action would require congressional approval. 

“It clearly cannot be shut down without it,” she said. 

Still, the Trump administration has put most employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development on administrative leave as part of a non-congressionally sanctioned effort to eliminate the agency. 

Widespread reductions in force at the Education Department could come as soon as Tuesday. The agency has offered buyouts of up to $25,000 to most of its employees who have until Monday at 11:59 p.m. to accept. 

McMahon said during her hearing that states and localities would continue to receive the federal funding they currently receive and called for an expansion of Pell Grants for low-income college students to cover skill-based learning, despite the anticipated cuts to the agency. 

“It is not the president’s goal to defund the programs. It is only to have it operate more efficiently,” she said. 

McMahon headed the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term, receiving bipartisan praise. She also served as the co-chair of his transition team and as the board chair of the America First Policy Institute, a right-wing think tank. Brooke Rollins, who was AFPI’s president, is now Agriculture secretary. 

McMahon comes into the role with limited education experience, having served for less than a year on Connecticut’s Board of Education about 15 years ago.