Trump picks Linda McMahon to lead the Education Department : NPR

President-elect Donald Trump announced that he will nominate Linda McMahon, who served as head of the U.S. Small Business Administration during his first term, as co-chair. transition teamwill lead the U.S. Department of Education.

McMahon is a big name in the professional wrestling world and has campaigned unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut twice. She was chosen to lead the SBA during President Trump’s first term. During his two years in the role, McMahon out of the headlinesavoiding the swirl of controversy that characterized President Trump’s first term. She left in 2019 to lead Trump-aligned super PAC America First Action, which remains in Trump’s orbit.

in Truth Social StatementPresident Trump said that as Secretary of Education, McMahon will “work tirelessly to expand choice to every state in America and empower parents to make the best educational decisions for their families.” Ta.

McMahon has previously served in the Trump administration’s Cabinet, but has limited experience working in public schools. From 2009 to 2010, she served on the Connecticut State Board of Education; She resigned when she ran for Senate.citing a legal opinion that prohibits board members from soliciting campaign contributions.

Mr. McMahon is the director of the America First Policy Institute. The think tank is staffed by veterans of President Trump’s first White House team, and the institute has functioned as a sort of incoming administration.

she appeared At the Republican National Convention earlier this year, she emotionally described the first time she worked with Trump, saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, Donald Trump is more than just a warrior. He’s a good man. He has a heart, and I believe that if necessary, he would stand at the gates of hell to protect our country.”

At the same time, McMahon did not hesitate to criticize Trump’s comments about women during the 2016 presidential campaign. in an interview on Yahoo NewsMcMahon said, “They are [comments] It was just the best. They were deplorable and absolutely disgusting,” adding, “Certainly he’s not cooperating in showing women in the best light. Maybe he’s remorseful, he’s not remorseful. Maybe not. I understand that when he punches back, he punches hard, but that’s too much. I hope no candidate makes comments like that.”

Mr. McMahon is a former professional wrestler executive. Along with her husband Vince McMahon, she helped build World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) into a powerhouse company.

She has been a longtime supporter of the president-elect, donating more than $7 million to two super PACs that supported Trump in his first presidential campaign. According to open secreta nonprofit that tracks campaign finance.

McMahon’s nomination comes as much of President Joe Biden’s student loan agenda is still tied up in legal challenges and as President Trump has repeatedly threatened to shut down the department entirely. This comes at a time of great uncertainty for many.

What this selection means for the future of the Department of Education

in Interview with XPresident Trump told Elon Musk that if elected, he would “shut down the Department of Education and return education to the states.”

Will Secretary McMahon be able to fulfill that promise?

No, it’s not her own power. The U.S. Department of Education was created by Congress “to formally abolish” [it]It can’t be helped that 60 votes are required. [the Senate]” said Max Eden, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute..

How easy would it be to find 60 senators willing to abolish the department? ”“It’s next to impossible to get 60 votes right away,” Eden said.

It’s also worth noting that even if a department were to close for some reason, many of the things it does wouldn’t necessarily follow. For example, the main K-12 funding sources administered by the department (including billions of Title I dollars to public schools in low-wealth areas) were created by Congress long before the department existed.

Additionally, there is no sign of bipartisan support for scaling back Title I.

“Some of the schools that rely most on Title I are those in poor, rural, white neighborhoods,” said Rachel Perera, a governance studies fellow at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution. “And Congressional Republicans have shown time and time again that they have no interest in hurting voters in that way.”

That said, the next Secretary of Education still has many opportunities and powers to influence policies that directly impact millions of Americans.

The Title IX roller coaster will continue.

Biden-Harris administration extended protection The move opposes gender discrimination in schools, including on sexual orientation and gender identity, and is supported by advocates for gay and transgender students.

But Donald Trump has slammed those protections and vowed to weaken them, which is within the power of the education secretary. That’s because Biden’s protections were changes to government regulations, not changes to federal law known as Title IX. interpretation Legislate through the Department of Education.

“So they could stop enforcing Title IX,” Perera said. Or at least stop enforcing Biden’s expanded vision. In fact, courts have already blocked the Department of Education from implementing new regulations in large parts of the country. Approximately half of all states filed lawsuits. Under protest.

This is an old roller coaster.

In 2016, the Obama administration Publish your own Title IX guidancetells schools that students should be allowed to use restroom facilities that correspond to their gender identity.

In early 2017, the newly inaugurated Trump administration quickly moved in the opposite direction, abandoning that interpretation of the law.

It now appears likely that President Trump, like President Obama, will reverse President Biden’s expansion of Title IX.

What this choice means for student loan borrowers

The next Secretary of Education will also have to make big choices regarding the federal student loan program. Biden’s second push for broad loan forgiveness begins after Supreme Court ruling his first sinkingis currently pending in court.

This so-called Plan B is a combination of Republican state attorneys general and stopped by the court In September, before the rules were finalized, much less introduced. Cost is estimated at approximately $150 billionamong other things, would wipe out debt for borrowers with old loans and erase unpaid interest for millions of people who owe more than they borrowed.

Courts have so far been skeptical of Biden’s efforts to broadly cancel student loans without Congressional approval. And since Plan B’s fate is still under litigation, the next Secretary could simply choose not to defend Plan B.

Biden is also confused. Distinctive loan repayment planthe Savings on Your Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan reduces a borrower’s payments (down to $0) while avoiding interest increases. provide more fast track Forgiveness is given to borrowers with low balances.

However, SAVE is quite expensive (According to some estimates, about $455 billion over 10 years) – and the fact that Biden essentially used the rulemaking process to circumvent Congress – as well as the fact that SAVE is in the same legal battle that overturned Biden’s first large-scale forgiveness proposal. I was exposed.

In recent months, 8 million borrowers enrolled in SAVE have had their payments suspended, unable to make payments while courts slowly decide whether their repayment plans are legal.

Even if SAVE were ultimately deemed legal, the new education secretary would only have to phase it out. And even if the plan were to be scrapped, only a sympathetic commissioner would choose to appeal.

Scott Horsley and Deepa Shivaram contributed to this article.