Trump Taps Billionaire Linda McMahon to Defund the Department Of Education Arrow

In response to Donald Trump tapping Linda McMahon as Education Secretary, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:

"Donald Trump wants to defund the Department of Education and send our tax dollars to his ultra-rich billionaire backers - like Linda McMahon. McMahon was already a disaster at the Small Business Administration, so it's no wonder Trump picked her to lead a department he is hellbent on destroying. But no matter what reckless attacks Trump and McMahon launch on our public schools, Democrats are ready to stand up for education funding alongside students and teachers across the country."

Donald Trump and JD Vance have repeatedly promised to carry out Project 2025's extreme plan to defund the Department of Education.

CNN: "Trump wants to close the Department of Education, joining calls by GOP rivals"

Associated Press: "Trump has pledged to terminate the Department of Education, but he also wants to exert enormous influence over local school districts and colleges."

Vance: "I've reviewed a lot of [Project 2025]. There are some good ideas in there."

The Week: "Many of Trump's indicated plans for a second term fall in line with the Project 2025 outline."

Axios: "This is undeniably a Trump-driven operation. The biggest tell: Johnny McEntee - one of Trump's closest White House aides, and his most fervent internal loyalty enforcer - is a senior adviser to Project 2025. One of the most powerful architects is Stephen Miller, a top West Wing adviser for the Trump administration."

CNN: "Trump claims not to know who is behind Project 2025. A CNN review found at least 140 people who worked for him are involved"

Project 2025, p. 319: "Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.

"…every parent should have the option to direct his or her child's share of education funding through an education savings account (ESA), funded overwhelmingly by state and local taxpayers"

Project 2025, p. 331: "The new Administration must take immediate steps to rescind the new requirements and lessen the federal restrictions on charter schools."

Project 2025, p. 350: "Title I is the largest portion of federal taxpayer spending under this federal education law, and the section provides additional taxpayer resources to schools or groups of schools in lower income areas… Over a 10-year period, the federal spending should be phased out and states should assume decision-making control over how to provide a quality education to children from low-income families."

Project 2025, p. 332: "…the current Administration has drastically expanded BDR, CSLD, and PSLF loan forgiveness… The new Administration must quickly commence negotiated rulemaking and propose that the department rescind these regulations."

Trump's promise to defund the Department of Education is consistent with his long history of attacking funding for the department and for critical programs during his first term.

NPR: "President Trump's Budget Proposal Calls For Deep Cuts To Education."

Inside Higher Education: "President Trump called for a $7.1 billion cut to funding at the Education Department with a proposed budget that retreads familiar higher education ideas for this White House. … The proposal marks the third straight year that President Trump has asked Congress for major cuts to education spending - the proposal would mean a 12 percent cut for the Education Department from fiscal year 2019 - and to overall discretionary expenditures."

Center for American Progress: "Trump's proposal also means that over 490,000 teacher positions could be eliminated-14 percent of K-12 public school teachers nationwide. This would have a terrible effect on the U.S. economy."

K-12 Dive: "President Donald Trump announced his proposed 2021 fiscal year budget Monday afternoon, once more suggesting cuts to the Department of Education and its notable K-12 programs.

"Overall, the budget allocates $66.6 billion for the Department of Education, 7.8% or $5.6 billion less than the previous year.

"Among proposed changes is a push to restructure the Elementary and Secondary Education Act into a block grant of $19.4 billion, which would consolidate major programs into its fold, including the Every Student Succeeds Act's Title I and Title II, and amount to $4.8 billion less than what Congress approved for 2020."

Washington Post: "The proposal would cut $3.6 billion - about 5 percent - from the Education Department by eliminating several discretionary programs, including one that funds after-school activities for needy children and another that covers teacher training."

Washington Post: "Trump's budget request again seeks to cut popular programs, including one that supports after-school activities for children in impoverished communities and another that offers wide-ranging grants that underwrite textbooks, equipment, counseling services and other needs for schools. That pool of money - the Student Support and Academic Enrichment grant program - also underwrites school safety efforts, including mental-health services and school safety equipment."

Under McMahon's (lack of) leadership, the Small Business Administration suffered, hurting Americans and small businesses across the country.

CNN: "Technical issues plagued the second round of emergency funding for small businesses that opened Monday, with users reporting error messages and slow processing. The problems mirrored the initial rollout of the Paycheck Protection Program earlier this month, which was plagued by technical hiccups and questions about if lenders were prioritizing the businesses that needed the money most."

Reuters: "The U.S. government's $660 billion small business rescue program has stumbled on missing paperwork, technology failure, and the misdirection of funds to big corporations. Now, it is lurching toward another hurdle: forgiving those hastily arranged loans… Smoothing the forgiveness process is critical for the program to succeed, but a lack of government guidance on the related calculations and necessary documentation could land borrowers and banks alike with billions in unexpected debts."

NPR: "But a new report from the Small Business Administration's inspector general found that businesses owned by people of color may not have received loans as intended under the Paycheck Protection Program. There was no evidence, the report said, that the SBA told lenders to prioritize business owners in 'underserved' markets, including business owners of color - something the CARES Act had specifically instructed the SBA to do."

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