New Education Chief: Wrestling Exec Takes On Big Job

Linda McMahon, a former wrestling executive, has been appointed as the nation's education chief. This is a surprising choice, given her background and the president's plans for the Education Department. McMahon, a 76-year-old billionaire and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, has little traditional education leadership experience. She spent a year on Connecticut’s state board of education and is a longtime trustee at Sacred Heart University. She has been a strong supporter of President Trump and has given millions of dollars to his campaigns. She has also served as leader of the Small Business Administration during his first term. McMahon's new job is a challenging one. She will have to work on two main tasks. First, she needs to reduce the size of the Education Department. Second, she needs to push forward with the president's education agenda. This agenda includes getting rid of diversity programs and accommodations for transgender students. It also includes expanding school choice programs. The president has said he wants to shut down the Education Department. He wants McMahon to "put herself out of a job. " This is a big task for McMahon, who will have to navigate the complex world of education policy. The Senate voted to confirm McMahon 51-45. Her supporters see her as a skilled executive who can reform the department. They believe she can make it more efficient and effective. However, her opponents worry that she lacks the necessary qualifications. They fear that her budget cuts will hurt students across the country. McMahon has distanced herself from the president's harsh words about the Education Department. She has said that her goal is to make the department run more smoothly, not to cut its funding. She has also promised to protect certain programs. These include Title I money for low-income schools, Pell grants for low-income college students, and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The Education Department was created by Congress in 1979. Its main job is to give money to schools and colleges. It sends billions of dollars a year to K-12 schools and oversees a $1. 6 trillion federal student loan portfolio. The president argues that the department has been taken over by liberals. He believes they are pushing their ideology on America’s schools. Schools and colleges have been told to eliminate diversity programs or risk losing federal funding. The Trump administration gave them a deadline of Feb. 28 to comply. The Education Department has said that just changing program names is not enough. Programs must treat students the same, regardless of race. During the presidential campaign, Trump promised to close the department. He wanted to give its authority to states. Schools and states already have more control over education than the federal government. Federal money makes up only about 14% of public school budgets. The Trump administration has already started changing many of the department's programs. Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has cut dozens of contracts. It dismissed them as “woke” and wasteful. It also gutted the Institute of Education Sciences, which gathers data on the nation’s academic progress. The administration has fired or suspended many employees. Some of the cuts have stopped work that’s ordered under federal law. At her hearing, McMahon said the agency will spend money that’s directed by Congress. She played down the cuts as merely an audit. The president's plan for the Education Department is a controversial one. It remains to be seen how McMahon will handle her new role. She will have to balance the president's agenda with the needs of the nation's students and schools.