Nothing the Department of Education has done for America’s children will be as important to them as its diminishment, according to Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
McMahon was confirmed Monday by the Senate, and posted a statement of first principles on the Department of Education’s website in which she made clear that the department’s days of holding education in its bureaucratic grip are over, writing that the department is tasked with “accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education — a momentous final mission — quickly and responsibly.”
McMahon said she was named to the post by President Donald Trump “to take the lead on one of his most momentous campaign promises to families” and launch an “effective transfer of educational oversight to the states” that will “mean more autonomy for local communities.”
“My vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children,” she wrote.
The Department of Education’s role in this new era of accountability is to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington.
Read more about our final mission: https://t.co/7XnCDshZu4 pic.twitter.com/ZA18RYDYYv
— Secretary Linda McMahon (@EDSecMcMahon) March 4, 2025
“American education can be the greatest in the world. It ought not to be corrupted by political ideologies, special interests, and unjust discrimination. Parents, teachers, and students alike deserve better,” she wrote, saying that the role of the department is to “restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington.”
The drive to “eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy so that our colleges, K-12 schools, students, and teachers can innovate and thrive” will “profoundly impact staff, budgets, and agency operations here at the Department.”
McMahon said foundational change is “ long overdue,” noting that since 1980, the department has doled out about $1 billion, “yet student outcomes have consistently languished.”
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“Millions of young Americans are trapped in failing schools, subjected to radical anti-American ideology, or saddled with college debt for a degree that has not provided a meaningful return on their investment. Teachers are leaving the profession in droves after just a few years — and citing red tape as one of their primary reasons,” she wrote.
“The reality of our education system is stark, and the American people have elected President Trump to make significant changes in Washington,” she continued. “Our job is to respect the will of the American people and the President they elected.”
McMahon wrote that the “final mission” of the department is “a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great.”
She said the future has three major principles, the first being “Parents are the primary decision makers in their children’s education.”
“Taxpayer-funded education should refocus on meaningful learning in math, reading, science, and history — not divisive DEI programs and gender ideology,” she wrote.
She added that reform is needed in higher education as well.
“Postsecondary education should be a path to a well-paying career aligned with workforce needs,” she wrote.
As the Department of Education begins what she called its “historic final mission on behalf of all students,” she added, “This is our opportunity to perform one final, unforgettable public service to future generations of students.
“I hope you will join me in ensuring that when our final mission is complete, we will all be able to say that we left American education freer, stronger, and with more hope for the future,” she wrote.
ABC reported that, according to sources it did not name, Trump is expected to sign an executive order seeking to cut the department to its bare bones and to push Congress for legislation to eliminate it altogether.
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