ICYMI: Pressed by Sen. Murray, McMahon Can’t Name a Single Requirement of Landmark Education Law; Murray Grills McMahon on Trump Plans to Dismantle Education Department, DOGE Access to Sensitive Student Data
WATCH: At Nomination Hearing, Murray Grills McMahon on Trump Plans to Dismantle Education Department
*** WATCH: Senator Murray’s floor speech***
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, took to the Senate floor to speak out against the nomination of Linda McMahon for Secretary of Education. A formal pre-school teacher and community college educator herself, Senator Murray sounded the alarm over President Trump and Elon Musk’s plans to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, which would devastate students, families, and schools across the country.
“We need a Secretary of Education with a really deep understanding of how to use this crucial position to strengthen educational opportunities and outcomes for every student in this country. We need a Secretary of Education who will put students first—not billionaires—who will stand up for our kids, every single one of them, even if it means standing up to Donald Trump and Elon Musk… On each of those accounts, Linda McMahon fails to make the grade,” said Senator Murray.
“Let’s be clear what it will mean if Trump, Musk, and McMahon have their way, and try to turn the Department of Education into something that kids read about in our history books,” continued Senator Murray. “There are 26 million K-12 students from low-income neighborhoods who could see their schools lose federal funding, lay off teachers, or even close. There are 9.8 million students at rural schools that count on federal support, which could face similar challenges. There are 7.4 million students with disabilities who could see the IDEA program upended, cutting off support that state and local taxpayers will need to provide. There are 6.6 million students who get Pell Grants to help them afford college, prepare to enter the workforce, or further their careers—who could be impacted by the chaos of abolishing the Department. And there are 8.1 million high school students and 3.3 million college students who are served by our career and technical education programs that are administered by the Department of Education.
“So here is my message to everyone, and like any good preschool teacher, I am going to make this short and simple: We cannot have a Secretary of Education who doesn’t believe in having a Secretary of Education. That’s kind of common sense,” said Senator Murray.
A senior member and former chair of the HELP Committee, Senator Murray has championed students and families at every stage of her career—fighting to help ensure every child in America can get a high-quality public education. Among other things, Senator Murray negotiated the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), landmark legislation that she got signed into law, replacing the broken No Child Left Behind Act. As a longtime appropriator, she has successfully fought to boost funding to support students and invest in our nation’s K-12 schools, and she has secured significant increases to the Pell Grant so that it goes further for students pursuing a higher education. Senator Murray also successfully negotiated the FAFSA Simplification Act, bipartisan legislation to reform the financial aid application process, simplify the FAFSA form for students and parents, and significantly expand eligibility for federal aid.
During McMahon’s confirmation hearing, Senator Murray pressed McMahon on whether she will ensure approved funding gets out to serve students as the law requires and whether she would protect students’ data from DOGE. She also asked McMahon to name a single requirement of ESSA—and McMahon demurred, failing to name any.
Senator Murray’s full remarks, as delivered on the Senate floor today, are below and video is HERE:
“I got my start in politics as a mom in tennis shoes fighting to protect a preschool program—and I still wear that label proudly.
“I am a former preschool teacher. I’m also a former community college educator. And I am also a former school board member.
“So, I don’t mess around when it comes to making sure every single one of our students, in every corner of our country, has access to a quality public education—one that leaves them prepared for the future, and opens the doors of opportunity wide.
“That’s not a responsibility I take lightly. It never will be.
“Our kids are the future of this country, and the Department of Education is really at the heart of how we make sure they are set up for success. But Donald Trump and Elon Musk want to rip the heart out of public education in America—and abolish the Department of Education.
“Well, not if I can help it. And that’s why I believe we need a leader at the Department of Education who actually believes in the mission of the Department of Education!
“We need a Secretary of Education with a really deep understanding of how to use this crucial position to strengthen educational opportunities and outcomes for every student in this country.
“We need a Secretary of Education who will put students first—not billionaires—who will stand up for our kids, every single one of them, even if it means standing up to Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
“And, Madam President, on each of those accounts, Linda McMahon fails to make the grade.
“I’ve had concerns from the outset about whether Ms. McMahon has the experience we should expect from an Education Secretary, and I’m sorry to say my concerns have not been alleviated. Far from it!
“I asked her in her confirmation hearing about the Every Student Succeeds Act, that is the law I negotiated with Republicans to finally fix No Child Left Behind, and provide more flexibility to states and schools, while ensuring accountability for our tax dollars. She couldn’t name a single requirement of the law—not one!
“How is she supposed to enforce our education laws when she didn’t even bother to study up before her Senate confirmation hearing?
“On fighting for public schools, it is already painfully clear that McMahon’s plan for our students and schools is in lockstep with Trump’s pro-billionaire agenda.
“They are going to let public schools get robbed blind as the richest people in the world suck money out of the schools and communities that need it the most. They’re going to cut off funding that directly supports our students and teachers, and send it straight to the pockets of unaccountable private and for-profit K-12 schools.
“And on standing up for our students, standing up to President Trump—Linda McMahon got it backwards.
“When I asked her at our hearing about making sure schools get the money that we, Congress, passes—even if Trump and Musk try to block it—and making sure that our students’ data is protected as DOGE tries to muck around with no oversight or accountability, she made it very clear: she would not stand in their way.
“But it gets worse, because when it comes to Trump’s mission of destroying the Department of Education, she’s all too ready to grab a hatchet and get to work.
“The irony is, that while Trump and Musk talk about eliminating the Department of Education, they are trying to involve the federal government even deeper into schools than ever before.
“They talk about how schools and parents know best—and then threaten schools if they don’t do what they say!
“Apparently, Ms. McMahon thinks: why should we have a Department of Education if Trump and Elon Musk actually can just tell schools what they can do, and what they can teach?
“Well let’s be clear what it will mean if Trump, Musk, and McMahon have their way, and try to turn the Department of Education into something that kids read about in our history books.
“There are 26 million K-12 students from low-income neighborhoods who could see their schools lose federal funding, lay off teachers, or even close.
“There are 9.8 million students at rural schools that count on federal support, which could face similar challenges.
“There are 7.4 million students with disabilities who could see the IDEA program upended, cutting off support that state and local taxpayers will need to provide.
“There are 6.6 million students who get Pell Grants to help them afford college, prepare to enter the workforce, or further their careers—who could be impacted by the chaos of abolishing the Department.
“And there are 8.1 million high school students and 3.3 million college students who are served by our career and technical education programs that are administered by the Department of Education.
“Trying to abolish the Department—or even just taking a wrecking ball to the critical work that it does—will hurt our students who face homelessness. It will cut off federal aid to students who want to pursue a higher education. It will undermine enforcement of the rights of students with disabilities. It will reduce assistance intended to lift up students not getting the support they need, weaken protections for students, scrap evidence-based research that helps us know what is working, for whom, and how, and it will leave for-profit colleges free to rip off students and families, which we have seen happen in the past, and we can’t let that happen again.
“So, the fact that Ms. McMahon has not opposed Trump’s grand plan to abolish the Department of Education is not just a red flag—it is a blinking, blaring fire alarm.
“It means either she doesn’t fully understand just what the Department does and how devastating it would be to abolish, or she doesn’t care. Either way, I have to say, I find that disqualifying.
“So here is my message to everyone, and like any good preschool teacher, I am going to make this short and simple: We cannot have a Secretary of Education who doesn’t believe in having a Secretary of Education. That’s kind of common sense.
“I mean, why would we have someone in charge of the education department who thinks it should not exist, who doesn’t care if we have a Department focused on getting our students and schools the support they need?
“So, Madam President, let me finish with this. I still have in my office a quilt that my kids, in my preschool, made for me on the very last day I taught preschool.
“It is hung prominently on the wall of my biggest meeting room, it is a beautiful patchwork of squiggles and smiles drawn in bright messy crayon.
“And when I look at it, I remember the little hands that made each one of those squares. I think about those little heads with big curious minds and a world of possibilities before them.
“I remember the responsibility that we all felt to make sure they were leaving our preschool ready to succeed.
“I wonder how many of the children that made those little small squares now have kids of their own.
“And I reflect on how the decisions we make in education today—the policies that we fight for, the people that we confirm or reject here—will set a course for our children and our country for years to come.
“There are two clear courses ahead of us with this vote: one where we have a Department of Education that continues to work to support every student, and give them a bright possible future—or one where we don’t.
“One where every kid is on their own. One where lights are turned off, anddoors are shut,and opportunities are closed—unless you happen to have the right zip code, or the right money.
“I know which future I’m going to vote for today—the one where we live up to our responsibility and all of our kids can live up to their fullest potential and pursue big dreams.
“I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for that future—and against Linda McMahon for Secretary of Education.”
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