As Washington prepares for President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration, federal agencies are bracing for a wave of anticipated cuts — perhaps none more so than the Department of Education.
Trump promised the total destruction of the long-standing federal agency in a September 2023 campaign video, with an announcement that he would be “sending all education and education work and needs back to the states.”
Since the brash pronouncement, the former president has refused to offer calcifications about whether he still plans to shutter the department and how he plans to get Congress to buy in. He has, however, named someone to shepherd his vision for the agency: Linda McMahon.
For those with only a glancing familiarity with McMahon, Trump’s decision to appoint her to run the Department of Education could appear baffling. She is best known for her career as a professional wrestler and as co-founder of…