With her history in the wrestling industry, Linda McMahon is no stranger to rowdy crowds, but President Trump's nominee for secretary of education might not have been expecting one at her Senate confirmation hearing. The Hill reports that at least five protesters were removed after interrupting McMahon's hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Wednesday. Some of them called for McMahon to protect trans youth and children with disabilities—and to keep billionaires out of education. Sources tell the Hill that the protesters were affiliated with the country's largest teachers' union, the National Education Association.
If confirmed. McMahon will lead a department that President Trump has promised to dismantle, Politico reports. "I'd like it to be closed immediately," he said Wednesday. "Look, the Department of Education's a big con job." During the HELP panel hearing, McMahon promised that Congress would have a say in the department's future. She said Trump doesn't want to defund programs like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which provides funding for students with disabilities, but to have them "operate more efficiently" through transfers to different agencies.
"We'd like to make sure that we are presenting a plan that I think our senators could get on board with, and our Congress could get on board with, that would have a better functioning Department of Education," McMahon said, per the AP. She added that shutting the department down "certainly does require congressional action." Many of the department's staffers have already been placed on leave or pressured to quit.
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