McMahon Says She Wants to Shift Away From Higher Ed

"Education Secretary Linda McMahon told a conservative news outlet she wants to focus less on higher ed this year. The comment comes after the Trump administration's yearlong use of multiple federal departments to pressure universities and their employees and students to conform to the White House's desires."

"On social media, McMahon posted, "In 2026 we will empower parents, strengthen families, and end Washington's grip on education by returning it to the states." She also shared a video touting what she sees as the administration's many wins. Those included cutting deals with several universities to restore funding the administration froze, changes to the federal student aid application and steps toward dismantling the Education Department."

"She told Breitbart her top three priorities will be literacy, noting poor scores on a national K-12 test; school choice, which usually refers to providing public money for parents to send their children to K-12 charter or private schools or to homeschool them; and "returning education to the states." Regarding that last priority, McMahon told the outlet, "That's what we're really going to be working on, and that falls in line with the president's directive to eventually totally move education to the states and to make sure that the bureaucracy of the Department of Education doesn't exist in Washington anymore.""

Education Department priorities for 2026 will move emphasis away from higher education toward elementary and secondary education. The top priorities are literacy, addressing poor national K–12 test scores; school choice, involving public funding for charter, private, or homeschool options; and returning education governance to state control. Social media messaging framed the agenda as empowering parents, strengthening families, and reducing federal involvement. The administration cited restored university funding, changes to the federal student aid application, and steps to dismantle the department as accomplishments. The practical and legal details of shifting authority to states remain unclear.

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