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Dr. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana and chair of the Senate HELP Committee, led the hearing and voted to advance McMahon’s nomination to the Senate floor.
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This story was updated at 2 p.m.
Linda McMahon’s bid to become the next education secretary moved forward Thursday after a Senate panel voted 12–11 along party lines to advance her nomination.
McMahon has “demonstrated a strong vision for the Department of Education” and is “the partner this committee needs to improve the nation’s education system,” said Dr. Bill Cassidy, the committee chair from Louisiana. “I proudly support Mrs. McMahon’s nomination.”
Republicans on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee also largely praised McMahon at the preceding hearing on Feb. 13, saying they couldn’t think of a better person to lead the nation’s education system.
They used their questions to ensure the nominee recognized that only Congress has the statutory power to carry out Trump’s plan to abolish the Education Department—to which she said, “Well, certainly President Trump understands that we will be working with Congress.” In addition to shutting down or reducing the size of the department, McMahon made clear at the hearing that she supports combating campus antisemitism, prohibiting trans women from participating in sports and eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Since the hearing, the Education Department released a sweeping Dear Colleague letter that directs colleges to end any race-based policies or programming in K-12 schools and colleges by Feb. 28. The letter, which targeted “every facet of academia,” has received significant pushback from the public.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, also pointed to a recent Truth Social post in which Trump wrote, “LONG LIVE THE KING!” Sanders emphasized that such language makes clear that it doesn’t matter who the secretary of education is, because they won’t be the one calling the shots.
“Whether facetiously or not—and I suspect not quite facetiously—[Trump] talked about being a king,” he said. “This great nation, founded on democratic principles, founded around a separation of powers … is moving more and more toward an authoritarian society.”
Democratic senators Maggie Hassan, from New Hampshire, and Tim Kaine, from Virginia, also spoke out against McMahon’s confirmation. But their opposition wasn’t enough to sway Republicans on the committee, and it likely won’t affect the final vote to confirm McMahon on the Senate floor.
As expected, McMahon has faced little opposition from Republicans during the confirmation process, despite her lack of experience and expertise in education, Trump’s plans to eliminate the department she would lead, or his recent executive actions to cut funding. Compared to some of the president’s earlier cabinet picks, McMahon—a successful businesswoman and former leader of the Small Business Association—was deemed relatively uncontroversial.
You can read live play-by-play updates from McMahon’s hearing here.
By contrast, Matt Gaetz withdrew his nomination to be attorney general amid sexual misconduct allegations, and Pete Hegseth required a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance to become secretary of defense.
During her confirmation hearing, McMahon carried herself with poise, responding to questions calmly and coherently; even when she didn’t know the answers, she appeared curious and congenial and indicated interest in learning more about how the department functions. She also made it a point to talk to each of the panel members before discussions began, which contributed to her leaving a generally positive impression; even Sanders said at Thursday’s vote that he liked her “personally.”
But Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin, the only Republican to speak at Thursday’s vote aside from Cassidy, said at the end of the day, his support for McMahon was driven by a need for change in America’s education system. When the Education Department was founded in 1979, the U.S. was ranked No. 1 globally in academics; now, the nation is ranked 34th, he said.
“I don’t know how you can possibly say with a straight face that it is working. What we’re doing is the definition of insanity,” Mullin added. “We’re repeating the same thing and expecting different results. God forbid that President Trump comes in and actually wants to make changes … So with that being said, I’m all for change and I’m a definite yes.”
The full Senate vote will likely be held in the next two weeks. Once formally recognized as secretary, McMahon will be an important arrow in Trump’s quiver, as she’s seen as dedicated to carrying out the president’s agenda, from abolishing the agency to stripping certain institutions of access to federal student aid when they do not align with the president’s ideals.
