Booker Statement on Vote Against Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement:

“The role of Secretary of Education demands someone with experience and a deep commitment to ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has access to a high-quality education.

“The Trump administration has made their plan to dismantle the Department of Education clear. If confirmed, Ms. McMahon would be leading the charge to destroy a critical entity that helps distribute federal funds that helps ensure that all students, including those in low-income communities, students with disabilities, students of color and English language learners, have equal access to a quality education. The impacts of eliminating the Department would be detrimental to our teachers, our students, and our country as a whole. As Secretary of Education, Ms. McMahon would decrease access to higher education, raise student loan payments, and weaken civil rights protections for students while using the Office for Civil Rights to promote a far-right political agenda. In New Jersey and across the nation, Ms. McMahon’s plans to cut funding for Title I and IDEA would have damaging impacts on public schools, particularly for low-income and disabled students. Dismantling the Department will make the very real challenges we face, including inadequate school funding, teacher shortages, and declines in student performance, even harder to overcome.

“Ms. McMahon’s confirmation hearing was deeply concerning. She failed to provide clear answers on whether teaching African American history courses would violate Trump’s executive order on ‘radical indoctrination,’ or whether student organizations like ‘Special Olympics’ and ‘Jewish Student Association’ could put schools at risk of losing federal funding under Trump’s policies. Additionally, she failed to display knowledge of the education laws she would be responsible for enforcing. I am deeply skeptical of her ability to lead the Department of Education effectively.

“For these reasons, I will be voting against Ms. McMahon for Secretary of Education.”