Education secretary nominee Linda McMahon is the next Cabinet pick of President Trump’s to face a showdown with lawmakers — and the first he has told to “put yourself out of a job.”
McMahon, whose confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. EST, will be questioned by senators just a week after Trump said he would like to use executive action to eliminate the Department of Education and amid media reports that he is preparing executive orders to weaken and reduce the federal agency and calling on Congress to finish it off.
While she’s also likely to face questions on her lack of education experience, a lingering lawsuit from her professional wrestling days and how she might implement executive orders on gender issues and school choice, McMahon’s hearing could be dominated by the future of the Education Department.
Republicans have voiced no objections to McMahon, so far giving her a clear path to confirmation, but Democrats and other opponents of the former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) executive have made clear their lines of attack ahead of the hearing.
“McMahon’s nomination is really concerning for us and for parents across the country, because what we have heard from parents is that they want a strong public education system for our kids. They want our kids to feel safe in schools, and they want schools to be fully funded, and Linda McMahon doesn’t really have a track record of being as an advocate for education,” said Ailen Arreaza, executive director of ParentsTogether.
Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to McMahon Tuesday with dozens of questions they want her to be prepared to answer on Thursday, including on ending the department, the student loan system and McMahon’s support of Project 2025.
The senators raised concerns that McMahon has little experience in education apart from a year on the Connecticut State Board of Education and multiple years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
“You have a minimal track record on education issues and strikingly little experience pertaining to education policy,” the Democrats wrote.
“This lack of a public record means that the American people have not been afforded the opportunity to evaluate your views on topics related to the Education Secretary’s core responsibilities,” they added.
McMahon, who in Trump’s first administration served as the head of the Small Business Administration, was tapped by the president-elect back in November, a surprise pick for those in the education field.
Trump has told reporters he has spoken to McMahon about closing up the Department of Education and how he told her to “put yourself out of a job” if confirmed.
Completely eliminating the department would require an act of Congress, and Republicans in both the House and Senate have introduced bills to do so, but it is difficult to imagine a measure securing the 60 votes to defeat a Senate filibuster.
However, Trump has said he is looking at executive actions targeting the agency, and media reports say he is eyeing ones to either cut programs not written into law or move them to other federal departments.
When McMahon was nominated, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the HELP Committee, said he agreed “with President Trump’s statement that we need someone who is going to focus on parental choice in children’s education.”
“Linda McMahon’s experience running the Small Business Administration can obviously help in running another agency. I look forward to meeting with her,” said Cassidy, who will be running Thursday’s hearing.
The HELP chair’s handling of the proceedings will be closely watched by the president and his allies. Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump after his 2021 impeachment, is up for reelection in 2026, and he has already drawn one pro-MAGA primary challenger.
The Hill has reached out to Cassidy’s office for further comment.
McMahon has largely flown under the radar so far, particularly compared to Trump’s more controversial nominees, such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Health and Human Services pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who was confirmed Wednesday.
However, at least one part of her past is likely to be brought up after a lawsuit was filed in October against her and her husband, Vince McMahon, during their time leading WWE. The suit alleges the McMahons knew about a ringside announcer sexually abusing ring boys but did not do anything to stop him.
Her attorney has said the lawsuit “is filled with scurrilous lies, exaggerations and misrepresentations regarding Linda McMahon.”
The presidents of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, along with Democratic lawmakers, parents and students, are holding a rally in D.C. ahead of McMahon’s hearing with the message “to protect students and public schools.”
Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, said her group will be at the Capitol with parents talking to lawmakers this week and has sent fact sheets out to all 100 senators detailing what it would be mean if the Department of Education was abolished.
“I hear a lot about what they want to cut, what they want to destroy, what they want to dismantle. I would love to hear a forward-thinking vision for what American public education is supposed to look like,” Rodrigues said. “I haven’t heard a lot of that. I’ve heard a lot of complaining and whining about things that they don’t like, but I’m not hearing about a viable alternative in terms of what they’re going to do for American families.”
“I am hoping substance like that, and deep questions like that, are asked of Linda McMahon,” she added.
McMahon may also be called upon to answer for decisions the Department of Education has made under acting Secretary Denise Carter.
At the end of January, dozens of agency staffers were placed on administrative leave after Trump’s executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the federal government.
The union representing the employees believes staffers were targeted after attending a DEI training in 2019, one that was held during Trump’s first administration and was encouraged by the secretary of Education at the time.
And last week congressional Democrats showed up at the Department of Education after their request for an emergency meeting with the acting secretary to discuss Trump’s sweeping federal cuts was ignored. The lawmakers were locked out of the building when they arrived and not allowed in.
“They are blocking members of Congress from entering the Department of Education! Elon is allowed in and not the people? ILLEGAL,” Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) said, referencing tech billionaire Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
This week, DOGE announced millions of dollars in contracts the Department of Education has ended.
“We will be down tomorrow with parents from across the country, meeting with the Senate … and asking them to make sure that they ask the tough questions, so we know where they stand on these issues, and we know where Linda McMahon and the administration stands on these issues,” Rodrigues said.
