Honestly, if you had "professional wrestling mogul" on your 2025 bingo card for the person running the American school system, you’re either a psychic or a very close follower of the Trump inner circle. Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education is one of those appointments that made half the country scratch their heads and the other half cheer for a "disruptor" in the classroom.
But here’s the thing.
Most of the noise around her is just that—noise. People are so focused on the WWE of it all that they're missing what she's actually doing in the building on 400 Maryland Avenue. She isn't just a figurehead. She’s the architect of what she calls the "final mission" of the department.
The Reality of Linda McMahon Secretary of Education
When Linda McMahon was confirmed by the Senate in a tight 51-45 vote on March 3, 2025, the mission was clear: dismantle the very agency she was hired to lead.
It sounds like a paradox, right?
How do you lead a department while trying to turn off the lights? For McMahon, it isn't about "getting rid of schools," which is a common misconception you'll see on social media. It's about a massive shift in power. Basically, she wants the federal government out of the business of telling your local school board what to do.
She’s spent the last year on her "Returning Education to the States" tour. By early 2026, she’s already hit over half the states, visiting places like Newport News in Virginia and Exeter-West Greenwich in Rhode Island. She’s not just there for photo ops with kids and their "History Rocks!" projects. She’s gathering data to prove that the federal government is basically a middleman that doesn't need to exist.
✨ Don't miss: Ukraine War Map May 2025: Why the Frontlines Aren't Moving Like You Think
The "DOGE" Effect and Shinking the Budget
You've probably heard about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Well, McMahon has been their biggest collaborator in the cabinet.
Early on, they offered $25,000 buyouts to Department of Education staffers to just... leave.
And many did.
By the time she presented the FY 2026 budget proposal in May 2025, she wasn't asking for more money for federal programs. She was asking for less. Much less. She wants to consolidate things like Title I and IDEA (the act that protects students with disabilities) and move them to other agencies like the Department of Labor or Health and Human Services.
The logic?
Streamlining. If the Department of Labor handles workforce development, why is Education also doing it? McMahon argues that these "silos" waste billions of your tax dollars. Critics, like Senator Elizabeth Warren and various teachers' unions, argue that this "efficiency" is actually just a way to strip away the civil rights protections that the Department of Education was literally created to enforce.
🔗 Read more: Percentage of Women That Voted for Trump: What Really Happened
What's Actually Changing in Schools?
If you're a parent, you might not see the "Department of Education" on your kid's report card, but you're seeing McMahon's influence in the fine print of school policy.
- Universal School Choice: This is her North Star. She’s pushing for federal funds to follow the student, not the school. If you want to take your public tax dollars to a private or charter school, she wants to make that a legal breeze.
- Title IX Overhaul: This has been the biggest legal lightning rod. Partnering with Attorney General Pam Bondi, McMahon has moved to strictly define sex as biological. This has led to massive settlements with universities like UPenn to restore female-only sports and locker rooms.
- The 50-State Tour: She’s using these visits to highlight "patriotic education" and "civics." In Newport News, she talked about how history isn't just a book, but a living thing. It's a clear move away from the "equity-based" curricula of the previous administration.
It's a lot.
Some people call it a "Golden Age" of parental rights. Others call it the beginning of the end for public education.
Why the WWE Background Actually Matters
People love to joke about the wrestling stuff, but you shouldn't. McMahon didn't just stand in a ring; she grew a regional wrestling promotion into a multibillion-dollar global media empire. She’s a "job creator" in the most literal sense.
When she talks about "Career and Technical Education" (CTE), she isn't just using buzzwords. She sees education through the lens of the labor market. To her, a high school diploma that doesn't lead to a job is a failed product.
This business mindset is why she’s so comfortable with the idea of "competition" in schools. In the WWE, if a character doesn't work, you change it or cut it. She’s applying that same ruthless pragmatism to federal grants.
💡 You might also like: What Category Was Harvey? The Surprising Truth Behind the Number
The Controversy Nobody Talks About
While the headlines focus on the "dismantling" of the department, the real tension is in the Interagency Agreements (IAAs).
McMahon has been quietly signing deals to hand over education functions to the Department of the Interior and the Department of Labor. For example, she recently met with Tribal leaders to discuss how the Department of Interior will take a bigger role in Indian Education.
This is "deconstruction" in real-time.
She isn't waiting for Congress to pass a law to "abolish" the department. She’s just... moving the furniture out while everyone is arguing about the lease. It’s a brilliant, if controversial, bureaucratic maneuver that allows the administration to bypass the gridlock in D.C.
Actionable Steps for Parents and Educators
Whatever your politics, the "McMahon era" of education is here, and it changes the rules of the game. Here is how to navigate it:
- Look into Education Savings Accounts (ESAs): With the push for universal school choice, more states are opening up ESAs. This could mean thousands of dollars for your child’s tutoring, private tuition, or homeschooling materials.
- Monitor Local School Board Decisions: Since McMahon is pushing power back to the states, your local school board is now more powerful than it has been in forty years. They will decide the curriculum, not Washington.
- Audit Career Pathways: If you have a high schooler, check out the new CTE (Career and Technical Education) grants. There is a massive influx of money for trade schools and "work-based learning" that didn't exist two years ago.
The Department of Education isn't gone yet, but under Linda McMahon, it’s unrecognizable. She’s betting that by breaking the federal machine, she can fix the American classroom. Only time—and test scores—will tell if she’s right.