Parent advocacy groups are urging the Senate to swiftly confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education in order to repair the damages done to the department by the previous administration.
American Principles Project sent a letter Tuesday to the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions commending nominee Linda McMahon’s “strong background and the necessary qualifications to lead and improve the Department of Education.” The letter, signed by Moms for Liberty, Claremont Institute, Family Research Council and Eagle Forum, warned that the department “desperately needs a complete overhaul after years of incompetence, hyper-partisanship, and a purposeful anti-Christian agenda.”
“All that experience will serve her well at the Department of Education, which has gone off the rails under the Democrats’ rule,” the letter said of McMahon. “The Biden-Harris administration has used the Department of Education not to educate America’s children — who are steadily falling behind — but instead to push their radical cultural agenda on America’s kids and to punish anyone who dares stand in their way. Kids today are taught to hate their country, divide themselves by race, and embrace a pervasive gender ideology.”
The education department under former President Joe Biden “decided to wage war” against religious institutions and stifle trade schools in order to “protect the higher education cartel against competition” and uphold “cultural marxism,” the letter states. The American Principles Project found in 2024 that Christian institutions and career colleges made up nearly 70% of penalties imposed by the Office of Enforcement despite these schools representing less than 10% of college students.
The previous administration took a similarly unfavorable stance against the parental rights movement. Former Education Secretary Miguel Cardona was allegedly behind a push to use the FBI to investigate parents who spoke out against schools that brought critical race theory and gender ideology into classrooms, reportedly calling on the National School Boards Association (NSBA) to author a letter labeling such parents as “domestic terrorists.” The American Principles Project released a statement at the time, claiming that the letter was intended to “intimidate concerned parents into submission.”
Biden’s Department of Education also attempted to allow men to utilize women’s restrooms, locker rooms and participate on women’s sports teams through its Title IX rewrite which expanded protections against sex-based discrimination to include gender identity.
Trump has already worked to root out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices in K-12 and higher education as well as rampant gender ideology and critical race theory (CRT). The president is reportedly considering dismantling the department entirely, an idea that he floated while on the campaign trail in 2024. Trump has said that the department’s responsibilities may be better managed by the states, though he enthusiastically selected McMahon to right the ship of the department in November 2024.
“We are confident that once confirmed to the position, she will end the Department’s weaponization towards certain colleges, promote education choice, and bring back common sense,” the letter concludes. “Linda McMahon has never backed down from a challenge, and we know she will fight for all of America’s students. We thank the Committee for considering our views and urge that she be confirmed in a timely fashion.”
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