Senate Confirms Trump Cabinet Nominee

The Senate on Monday confirmed the nomination of Linda McMahon to serve as secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

However, the future existence of the federal agency remains in doubt.

McMahon secured the nomination in a 51-45 vote.

Congratulations to my good friend and our new Secretary of Education, @Linda_McMahon! pic.twitter.com/f8ykc5yBRr

— Glenn Jacobs (@GlennJacobsTN) March 4, 2025

Linda McMahon is sworn in as Trump’s Secretary of Education.

Trump promised to dismantle the Dept of Education and Sec McMahon says she will be following through on that.

Let’s go!! pic.twitter.com/CHwaWPtSFS

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 4, 2025

From the Associated Press:

The Senate voted Monday to confirm former wrestling executive Linda McMahon as the nation’s education chief, a role that places her atop a department that President Donald Trump has vilified and vowed to dismantle.

McMahon will face the competing tasks of winding down the Education Department while also escalating efforts to achieve Trump’s agenda. Already the Republican president has signed sweeping orders to rid America’s schools of diversity programs and accommodations for transgender students while also calling for expanded school choice programs.

At the same time, Trump has promised to shut down the department and said he wants McMahon “to put herself out of a job.”

The Senate voted to confirm McMahon 51-45.

A billionaire and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, McMahon, 76, is an unconventional pick for the role. She spent a year on Connecticut’s state board of education and is a longtime trustee at Sacred Heart University but otherwise has little traditional education leadership.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Linda McMahon confirmed as the 13th Secretary of Education. 51-45!

Congratulations Linda @Linda_McMahon @EDSecMcMahon pic.twitter.com/dCsd6eEoAF

— AJ Huber (@Huberton) March 3, 2025

Congratulations to our new Secretary of Education Linda McMahon! pic.twitter.com/wFXIuusBxX

— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) March 3, 2025

Per NPR:

In a statement announcing her nomination, Trump said, as secretary of education, McMahon will “empower the next Generation of American Students and Workers, and make America Number One in Education in the World.”

In her confirmation hearing, which was heated at times and interrupted repeatedly by the protesters shouting about protections for students, McMahon decried a public education “system in decline” and vowed to “reorient” the U.S. Department of Education and “invest in teachers not Washington bureaucrats.”

The White House has been clear that it intends to dismantle the department and that it will be McMahon’s job to oversee that effort. The administration has already made cuts to department staff, programs and research, but it cannot officially close the department, as it was created by an act of Congress in 1979 and can only be closed by that same body.