Nomination of Linda McMahon

Floor Speech

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Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on the importance of the Department of Education and my grave concerns about the nomination of Linda McMahon to be the Secretary of Education.

President Trump has made it clear what his directive is for Linda McMahon. It is to dismantle the Department of Education. And despite President Trump's stating that he has never read Project 2025 and Mrs. McMahon repeatedly stating that she is not familiar with Project 2025's proposals on higher education, it is abundantly clear that this administration is following Project 2025 to a tee.

Project 2025 lays out a blueprint for ending the Federal Government's role in public education, starting with dismantling the Department of Education, so that they can find the money they need to provide tax breaks for their billionaire friends. You heard me right: cutting public education dollars so that the richest can get richer.

Eliminating the Department of Education would be absolutely devastating for students, for teachers, and parents in Wisconsin and across America. Wisconsin stands to have $235 million in title I funding ripped away. Wisconsin stands to have over $270 million in IDEA funding, which is critical for special education, ripped away.

What this means is Wisconsin teachers stand to have needed resources for their classrooms ripped away. Parents stand to have in- and out-of- classroom support for their children ripped away. And of course, our children--our children--stand to lose out on the public education and opportunity to learn that they deserve, regardless of their ZIP code.

Look, we know we are facing a challenging time in the American education system. We know that, as a nation, we must turn the tide and ensure that America is a global leader in educating our children, and I am committed to working with parents, teachers, principals, and school districts to do just that. But we also know what won't help our children get a good education, and that is slashing the education budget. And we know what will help turn the tide: critical, data-driven investment in our public education system to support our children, our teachers, our schools, and our communities.

It is clear that Mrs. McMahon is being nominated for this role not to help children but to do Mr. Trump's bidding. She comes to this role with very little experience in education, but she has a wealth of experience in Trump world. She has never been a teacher, but she did donate over $20 million to Trump's campaign and organizations that are backing him. She has never been a school administrator, but she does sit on the board of directors for Trump Media & Technology Group.

In this critical time, we need to be providing our students and schools with more support, not less, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting no on her nomination.

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