Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
Protesters gather at the Wisconsin State Capitol, holding signs.

Trump's Water Policies Put America's Drinking Water at Risk

America at 250: A Country in Distress

America at 250: A Country in Distress

Spectators on a stadium with USA playing.

Democracy Needs Citizens, Not Fans

Declaration of Independence

The Inherited Stage

Linda McMahon Confirmed as Trump's Secretary of Education

News

Linda McMahon Confirmed as Trump's Secretary of Education

Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Education, testifies during her Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on February 13, 2025 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Hugo Balta
By Hugo BaltaMar 04, 2025
Hugo Balta
Hugo Balta is a journalist, educator, and communicator. Hugo is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network, a trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network, and an adjunct professor teaching journalism courses.
See More Writings by author

On Monday, the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed Linda McMahon as the new U.S. Secretary of Education in a 51-45 vote along party lines.

McMahon, a former professional wrestling executive and head of the U.S. Small Business Administration during President Donald Trump's first term, takes on the role amid the administration’s stated goal of dismantling the department. While the White House has already implemented staff and program cuts, formally eliminating the department would require congressional approval, as it was established by an act of Congress in 1979.

At her confirmation hearing, McMahon sought to distance herself from Trump’s harsh rhetoric, stating that the goal is to make the Education Department "operate more efficiently" rather than defund programs.

In a statement announcing her nomination, Trump expressed confidence in McMahon’s leadership, stating that she will "empower the next generation of American students and workers and make America number one in education."

The Department of Education, one of the smallest federal agencies, primarily oversees funding for K-12 schools, including Title I for low-income students and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for students with disabilities.

A recent NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found that 63% of respondents oppose closing the department, while 37% support the idea.

At 76, McMahon is an unconventional choice for the position. A billionaire and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, she has limited experience in education leadership beyond serving a year on Connecticut’s state board of education and as a longtime trustee at Sacred Heart University.

Supporters view her as a capable executive poised to reform what they see as an ineffective agency, while critics argue she lacks the necessary qualifications and warn that her budget cuts could negatively impact students nationwide.

Hugo Balta is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network.

SUGGESTION: Project 2025: Department of Education

Students raising their hands in a classroomThe New York Times reports that Elon Musk’s cost-cutting initiative announced $900 million of cuts at the Education Department, apparently aimed at hobbling the Institute of Education Sciences—the department’s research arm. dolgachov/Getty Images


Latest news

Happy teacher asking girl with hand raised sitting in classroom at elementary school
Education

When It Comes to Our Children’s Education, Trump Gets An ‘F’

How My Benzodiazepine Experience Impacted the Trust I Have in the Healthcare System
Health

How My Benzodiazepine Experience Impacted the Trust I Have in the Healthcare System

Constitution of the United State with the U.S. flag in the background.
Democracy

Our Framers on 21st Century Primaries and Polarization

Are State Courts More Protective of Transgender People than Federal Courts?
Rule of Law

Are State Courts More Protective of Transgender People than Federal Courts?

Read More

Federal Register Reports being printed out of a large machine.

Congress should strengthen the administrative state by writing clearer laws, limiting delegated authority, and requiring periodic reauthorization of agency powers.

Photo courtesy of Luka Jacobi-Krohn

Putting the Guardrails Back on Delegations of Power

Congress needs to write better laws instead of dismantling the administrative state.

Debates over the administrative state focus on whether these agencies have accrued too much power. Some argue that the solution is to severely weaken or, in extreme scenarios, dismantle these federal agencies. However, the issue is not the existence of these agencies but actually how Congress writes its laws. When statutes are drafted with vague language, agencies are left to interpret the scope, and courts are forced to set the boundaries. This results in constant litigation and generally regulatory instability. If Congress actually wants a more durable and accountable regulatory system, they need to start with themselves by writing clearer laws.

Keep ReadingShow less
Businesspeople walking in line across world map, painted on asphalt

America's immigration debate reflects a deeper question: Does America still believe in itself? A historical look at immigration, assimilation, and American identity.

Klaus Vedfelt / Getty Images

What Immigration Debates Reveal About National Confidence

America has spent 250 years arguing about immigrants.

But beneath the arguments about visas, walls, asylum claims, deportations, and border security lies a more uncomfortable question:

Keep ReadingShow less
The U.S. flag, waving, with the ends of it frayed.

The U.S. is falling short of what its national wealth makes possible for its people.

Eric Raptosh Photography/Tetra images via GettyImages

Americans Are Not As Well Off As People in Peer Nations – Us Safety Net’s Shortfalls Show Up in Global Data

As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence, the global data we collect and analyze shows that the country is failing to “promote the general Welfare,” as the Constitution’s framers promised a little more than a decade later.

We are scholars of human rights. Alongside the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, a nonprofit that tracks how well more than 200 countries and territories are meeting the human rights commitments their governments have made, we annually update scores measuring whether people can actually get the basics of a decent life, such as healthcare, adequate food and a quality education.

Keep ReadingShow less
No Party. No Big Money. No Problem: How an Independent Mayor Beat the Machine in Ridgecrest

Dr. Travis Endicott, Mayor of Ridgecrest, California

Photo provided

No Party. No Big Money. No Problem: How an Independent Mayor Beat the Machine in Ridgecrest

Much of the national conversation about independent politics focuses on candidates. Less attention goes to the independents who have already won and are now doing the actual work of governing without a party behind them.

This is the first installment in a new IVN series profiling independent elected officials in an attempt to address that shortcoming.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026