Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, arrives for a hearing of the Health, Education, and Labor Committee on her nomination, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)2025-02-20T15:42:08Z WASHINGTON (AP) A Senate committee voted Thursday to advance Linda McMahons nomination to serve as President Donald Trumps education secretary, bringing her closer to leading an agency the Republican president wants to shut down.The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted 12-11 along party lines to send her nomination to be considered by the full Senate.At her confirmation hearing, McMahon said she wants to reorient the Education Department. Since his campaign, Trump has called for the department to be abolished, but McMahon acknowledged that only Congress could shut it down completely.Wed like to make sure that we are presenting a plan that I think our senators could get on board with, she said.Pressed on the fate of the agencys core initiatives, McMahon said Trump wants them to be more efficient but isnt out to defund them. She suggested certain roles could be moved to other agencies, saying the departments civil rights arm could go to the Justice Department. She pledged to preserve federal Title I money for low-income schools, Pell grants for low-income college students and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, all of which were created by Congress. At the same time, McMahon promised to cut off federal money from schools that defy Trumps orders against transgender athletes in womens sports, campus antisemitism and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the country. Democrats were alarmed by McMahons response to questions about Trumps order to ban DEI programs in schools. Asked if African American history classes could trigger a loss of federal money, McMahon said she wasnt certain and needed to look into it.McMahon, a billionaire Trump ally and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, brings less experience in education than many others in the role. She was a member of the Connecticut board of education for about a year in 2009, and shes a longtime trustee at Sacred Heart University. She left the WWE in 2009 and led two unsuccessful bids for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. Republicans were mostly unified behind McMahon at the hearing, though Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska raised concerns that Trump would ask McMahon to overstep her authority and interfere with local control of schools.The White House is considering an order that would direct the education secretary to dismantle the Education Department while urging Congress to fully abolish it. Even without the order, the Trump administration has fired or suspended more than 100 Education Department employees. Dozens of contracts have been canceled by Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency.The latest cuts, announced late Wednesday, involve grants totaling $226 million for a program designed to help schools improve outcomes and the quality of instruction, particularly for students with the greatest need. An Education Department news release said the program has been promoting race-based discrimination and gender identity ideology. ___The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the APs standards for working with philanthropies, a a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. COLLIN BINKLEY Binkley covers the U.S. Education Department and federal education policy for The Associated Press, along with a wide range of issues from K-12 through higher education. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site