U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon Claims U.S. School System is “Broken” Amid National Crisis

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said this week that America’s struggling students — not Washington bureaucrats — are driving her mission to dismantle the Department of Education and return control of education to states.

In an interview, McMahon stated President Donald Trump was “embarrassed” and “angered” after reviewing national education data shortly after taking office. She noted that when the president first assumed leadership last January, only 30% of students were proficient in reading and math across grades four through twelfth.

“We’re not doing something right,” McMahon said. “The money is not getting to the children. We are not teaching the way we should teach.”

McMahon emphasized that education decisions must be made at the local and state level, highlighting governors who have implemented science-based literacy programs and prioritized math instruction as examples of successful initiatives. She described efforts to unwind federal education bureaucracy through interagency agreements with the Department of Labor, which has already transferred oversight of workforce programs like the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act. Additional agreements with the Departments of Energy, Interior, and Health and Human Services are underway to maintain federal education funding without a standalone department.

McMahon also noted that Title I funds and IDEA resources will continue flowing to where they are needed, avoiding previous bureaucratic delays. In another development, McMahon sent a letter this week to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, accusing him of “dereliction of office” following a federal investigation into widespread student loan fraud in the state. She stated the Department of Education uncovered a heavy concentration of fraudulent applications in Minnesota and had saved taxpayers roughly $1 billion through reforms to the FAFSA program.

“I would like to hear from the governor,” McMahon said, “and I’ll wait and hear what his response is.”