Among all of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet announcements, one should stand out for students. Trump has appointed the next– and possibly last– leader of the Department of Education (ED): Linda McMahon.
On Nov. 19, Trump took to Truth Social to announce his plans of making McMahon the Secretary of Education as part of his new administration. He wrote that McMahon would “fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State,” citing her experience not only in education, but in business. However, McMahon’s support for public education is, at best, barely there, and her actions may prove disastrous for several important features at FCPS.
Notably, both Trump and McMahon appear to see little to no value in the ED. Trump has even said repeatedly that he wants to effectively shut it down, and, as his own cabinet pick, McMahon is expected to push this agenda.
McMahon also seems to believe that traditional four-year colleges indoctrinate students. Along with a fellow writer from the America First Policy Institute (a Trump-aligned think tank), she wrote that traditional four-year colleges indoctrinate students with the “‘right’ political opinions” instead of preparing them for the workforce.
McMahon’s background
The majority of McMahon’s career was dedicated to business, rather than education. While she holds a teaching certificate, McMahon has never actually been a teacher. Her business experience includes leading the Small Business Administration under the previous Trump administration and– probably her most recognizable title– being the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
McMahon’s professional education history is limited to administration, having been a trustee at Sacred Heart University and a member of Connecticut’s State Board of Education. Her inexperience in a classroom setting leads to a lack of understanding of the struggles of educators, and disconnects McMahon from the over 3 million public school teachers that would be subject to her decisions.
During McMahon’s confirmation to the Connecticut State Board of Education, Representative Shawn Johnston called WWE “a really lousy product that does harm to our youth.” Due to her actions at WWE, McMahon has also been accused of enabling sexual exploitation of children. In the same confirmation hearing, McMahon falsely claimed she had a teaching degree, when in reality, her degree was in French. Combined with her time at WWE, this is a worrying stain on McMahon’s character. With this lack of integrity, and even questionable commitment to public education and the well-being of children, McMahon’s priorities may not be aligned with those of the ED.
Throwing in the towel for public school funding
Trump mentioned in his announcement that McMahon would be working to expand school choice. This refers to voucher programs which provide funding for families to send their children to private school. The money required to fund private school education will, of course, come from the education budget, taking federal funding away from public schools.
FCPS is home to many schools with very diverse student bodies, including several that rely on Title I funding due to their large numbers of low-income families. Title I is a government program that provides money to schools with underprivileged students. During his first term, Trump sought to cut Title I, something that McMahon will likely continue.
FCPS also has extensive special education programs for students with disabilities. Naturally, the needs of special education students vary from person to person, and public funding is already very low for the district– for the 2025 fiscal year, FCPS’ planned funding from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has fallen short by over $120 million due to the program being underfunded. The little money the district was given, covering only 9.5% of the 40% of FCPS costs that were committed, will likely be reduced even further under McMahon.
As someone appointed by Trump to lead the department he plans to gut, the stance McMahon takes in the ED is likely to cause blatant harm to FCPS. De-emphasizing the public school system in favor of private school and alternative routes to education would affect not only the district, but millions of public school students across the U.S. This is, of course, if the Department of Education lasts long enough for her to be held responsible.
