Linda McMahon, the former CEO of a professional wrestling and entertainment juggernaut and Donald Trump’s pick as Education secretary, told senators Thursday that the president’s plan to dismantle the Education Department would need congressional approval.
“We’d like to do this right,’’ she said. “We’d like to make sure that we are presenting a plan that I think our senators could get on board with, and our Congress could get on board with.’’
During her confirmation hearing, McMahon, who led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term, sought to assure members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that shutting down the department wouldn’t mean eliminating its funding.
“It is not the president’s goal to defund the programs, it’s only to have it operate more efficiently’’ and “return education to the states,” she said.
The Education Department has long been in the crosshairs of Trump, who has repeatedly vowed to shut it down. On Wednesday, he called for the department to be closed “immediately” and denounced it as a “con job.” He has already directed Elon Musk, who leads his new Department of Government Efficiency, to examine the department’s spending.
“What will you do if the president or Elon Musk tells you not to spend money Congress has appropriated?” asked Washington Sen. Patty Murray, a senior Democrat on the panel.
McMahon said the department would spend money that Congress has authorized. But, she added, “I do think it is worthwhile to take a look at the programs before money goes out the door. It is much easier to stop the money as it’s going out the door than it is to claw it back.”
Asked about the impact of potential cuts on students with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, McMahon said several of those programs were codified by statute and could not be slashed without congressional approval. As for those functions not codified, McMahon said she’d have to “take a look” at those.
Other senators on the HELP panel focused their questions on educational policy and the role the department plays in serving the nation’s neediest students.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the committee’s ranking member and an independent who caucuses with Democrats, asked McMahon if she would preserve the Pell Grant program, which provides financial assistance to more than 7 million low-income college students.
“Defunding is not the goal here,’’ McMahon said. “’I’d actually even like to see an expansion of Pell Grants. I’d like to see short-term certificates … for students who aren’t going on to four-year universities, who could have the opportunity to use Pell Grants for skill-based learning.”
During the hearing, which was interrupted several times by the shouts of protestors, McMahon expressed her support for school choice — the use of taxpayer money for private schools through vouchers and other programs.
She also spoke of the need to fight campus antisemitism and to expand workplace and apprenticeship training programs for individuals who choose not to attend college.
During questioning, Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., asked how McMahon’s pledge to address campus antisemitism squares with reports that department attorneys and other staff investigating antisemitism complaints have been placed on administrative leave.
“I have not yet been confirmed and have not yet been in the department. I don’t know about all the administrative people that have been put on leave. I want to look into that,” she said.
McMahon, unlike President Joe Biden’s Education secretary, Miguel Cardona, has no classroom teaching experience. She briefly served on the Connecticut State Board of Education and has been a trustee at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.
She has long been one of Trump’s most trusted lieutenants: Besides running the SBA during his first term, she was the co-chair of his transition team and has raised millions of dollars for his campaign as chair of the super PAC America First Action.
McMahon was the co-founder, along with her husband, Vince McMahon, of WWE, turning a regional wrestling company into a global entertainment empire. Last year, the couple was named in a lawsuit brought on behalf of five former WWE “ring boys,” who allege the McMahons knowingly permitted a former ringside announcer to use his position to sexually exploit children as young as 12 and 13 years old.
An attorney representing Vince McMahon said in a statement to The Associated Press that the couple was “confident the court will find that these claims are untrue and unfounded.”
At Thursday’s hearing, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., questioned whether campus sexual assault survivors could trust McMahon to support them.
“They certainly can trust me to support them,’’ the nominee responded. “I have a granddaughter that is now in college. I have two grandsons who are in college, and I have deep commitment of, understanding of how I would feel if any of them were involved in sexual harassment or accused of sexual harassment. You have my absolute commitment that I will uphold and protect those investigations to make sure that those students are treated fairly on both sides.”
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