Senators Kim and Warren Question Trump’s Secretary of Education Nominee Linda McMahon’s Lack of Experience, Extreme Views in Advance of Nomination Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today,Senator Andy Kim (D-N.J.),a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, joinedSenator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)in sending Linda McMahon, Secretary-Designate for the U.S. Department of Education, a 12-page letter with 65 questions on McMahon’s policy views ahead of her nomination hearing this week.
Text of Full Letter (PDF)
“[Y]ou have a minimal track record on education issues and strikingly little experience pertaining to education policy,”wrote the senators. “This lack of a public record means that the American people have not been afforded the opportunity to evaluate your views on topics related to the Education Secretary’s core responsibilities.”
Given McMahon’s lack of experience, the senators pushed McMahon to explain her views and the extent to which they overlap with certain extreme stances taken by President Trump, his Project 2025 allies, and President Trump’s former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
These include her views as they relate to:
Senators Kim and Warren are demanding that McMahon arrive at her February 13 hearing prepared with answers.
“We need a higher education system that is accessible to all Americans, not just those with the means to afford skyrocketing costs without taking on student debt,”concluded the senators. “The next Secretary of Education must fight for the best interests of students and families, not greedy and predatory for-profit colleges and inept loan servicers, and must reject extreme policies and efforts to eliminate the Department.”
Senator Kim works to expand access to opportunity through education as a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). Kim also sits on the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and the Special Committee on Aging. Learn more about Senator Kim’s service on behalf of New Jerseyhere.

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