McMahon says government shutdown 'proved an argument that conservatives have been making for 45 years'
Education Secretary Linda McMahon says the recent 43-day government shutdown made one thing clear: America doesn’t need the Department of Education.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon says the recent 43-day federal government shutdown revealed how little the U.S. Department of Education actually contributes to day-to-day learning in America.
“Students kept going to class. Teachers continued to get paid. There were no disruptions in sports seasons or bus routes,” McMahon wrote in a USA Today op-ed following the shutdown.
“The shutdown proved an argument that conservatives have been making for 45 years: The U.S. Department of Education is mostly a pass-through for funds that are best managed by the states.”
The shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, interrupted federal operations but left K-12 and college campuses largely unaffected. McMahon and President Trump have since vowed to follow through on a campaign promise to dismantle the department and return education authority to the states.
”To be clear, returning education to the states does not mean the end of federal support,” McMahon noted. “It simply means the end of a centralized bureaucracy micromanaging what should be a state-led responsibility.”
McMahon pointed to current partnerships between the Department of Education and other agencies, like the Department of Labor, which she says prove that existing programs can be better managed outside traditional bureaucratic structures. One such effort created a unified workforce development plan to help states more efficiently prepare students for jobs.
She also highlighted reforms under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which aims to cut college tuition costs and limit federal student loans to programs that deliver real skills and value.
Federal oversight, McMahon argued, has failed both students and taxpayers. She said that 45 years after the department began operation, “students can’t read proficiently, America’s test scores are behind the world in math and science, and college graduates are drowning in debt.”
The Trump administration is now advising states on how to utilize existing legal flexibilities in areas like school choice and Title I funding. States are also being encouraged to request waivers from “burdensome” regulations to craft education plans that reflect local priorities.
McMahon’s office is continuing a nationwide listening tour to highlight state-level success stories and reinforce the administration’s push to limit federal involvement in education.
