Education Secretary Linda McMahon vowed Wednesday to uphold the law in the Trump administration’s push to eliminate her department.
In testimony before a House Appropriations subcommittee, Mr. McMahon said her department has failed to improve student achievement. She said the proposed 2026 budget, which would eliminate bureaucratic red tape by sending federal funding directly to the states through block grants, will spark innovation and better outcomes in the classroom.
“Thank you for having me today to represent a department on a mission, its final mission: to wind down the Department of Education responsibility, cut waste, and give education back to the states, parents, and educators all in a lawful fashion,” Ms. McMahon said in her opening remarks.
President Trump’s proposed 2026 budget, which would become effective Oct. 1, seeks to reduce the department’s funding by roughly 15%, or $12 billion. It replaces funding for 18 K-12 programs with a block grant, which, critics say, amounts to a $4.5 billion cut to those programs.
The proposal cuts to Federal Work-Study programs and the agency’s Office for Civil Rights.
Ms. McMahon said the budget would preserve funding for the Title 1 program that targets money to schools in poor areas and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It would also increase spending on charter schools.
Ms. McMahon said the proposal includes “smart spending that will help improve student achievement, not serve bureaucratic interests.” She also said it builds upon the department’s ongoing downsizing efforts, including reducing staff, cutting wasteful contracts and suspending federal grants for “illegal DEI programs.”
“Our goal is clear: make education better, fairer, and more accountable by ending federal overreach and empowering families, schools, and states who best know the needs of their students,” she said.
Republicans have largely applauded the administration’s effort.
On Wednesday, they said it is time to give states and localities more say over education and parents more options for getting their children out of failing schools.
“Despite increasing federal spending on education, our children are not getting ahead academically,” said Rep. Robert Aderholt, Alabama Republican and chair of the Appropriations subcommittee on labor, health and human services, and education. “Students deserve better, but ever-increasing federal spending has not proven to be the solution.”
House Republicans also celebrated the administration’s push to stop boys from playing in women’s sports.
Democrats said Mr. Trump needs Congress to sign off on the dismantling of education and predicted that it will not happen.
They raised concerns about the administration’s “unlawful” withholding of education funds that Congress appropriated in the current budget. They demanded more details on the proposed $12 billion in spending reductions in the 2026 budget proposal, and warned that spending less on health programs and the civil rights division will hurt students.
Democrats said Mr. Trump does not want an educated population because it would make it easier for him to control people. They said the budget’s increased spending on charter schools is part of the GOP’s push to privatize education.
“This budget, in my view, should be described as leaving every child behind,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee. “You and President Trump explicitly seek to eliminate the Department of Education, which Republicans have proposed for decades.”
“But let me be clear with you,” Ms. DeLauro said. “You will not have the partnership of Congress in your efforts to destroy the Department of Education and eliminate public education in this nation.”
