View PDF of official letter sent

February 12, 2025

Dear Senators,

We, the undersigned organizations fighting to protect and support children and families across the country, urge you to reject the nomination of Linda McMahon to serve as Secretary of Education and oppose the Trump Administration’s deeply harmful agenda to undermine and dismantle the Department of Education (ED). 

As a nominee, Linda McMahon has a deeply concerning lack of experience in education and has shown an alarming disregard for the safety and wellbeing of children. Linda McMahon has also outright lied about her resume, including claiming she has a degree in education–which she does not. 

Moreover, Linda McMahon is the former leader of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank which has supported and advanced a policy agenda that would devastate public education funding, undermine students’ civil rights, and provide massive tax cuts to corporations and billionaires while forcing cuts to the services that communities across the country depend on–including child care. 

Even more concerning is Linda McMahon’s willingness to carry out President Trump’s agenda to undermine the Department of Education and the public school system that serves 90% of children in the United States–and 95% of all students with disabilities. President Trump has already given McMahon marching orders to “put yourself out of a job” and stated repeatedly throughout his campaign that he would like to “abolish” the Department. In just the past weeks, the Trump Administration has already placed Department of Education workers on leave without notice, allowed Elon Musk and his cronies access to students’ sensitive data, decimated the research arm of the Department, and hinted at a looming executive order to dismantle the Department.

This type of all-out attack on public education would cause deep and lasting harm to the children, families and educators in our communities and undoubtedly worsen the child care crisis as well. In order to thrive, families need access to both a functioning child care system and a quality, public education system and lawmakers must recognize how the two systems are deeply interconnected. Make no mistake, any Trump Administration attack on public education is fundamentally an attack on child care as well. 

We urge you to stand against these attacks and reject Linda McMahon’s nomination. Linda McMahon cannot be trusted to protect the children and families in our communities and is unfit to serve as Secretary of Education. 

Sincerely,

Alliance for Quality Education

NJ Communities United

Black Californians United for Early Care and Education

Virginia Organizing

First Up

Louisiana Policy Institute for Children 

Family Forward Oregon

The Children’s Partnership 

Alliance for Quality Education

Maine People’s Alliance

Parent Voices California 

National Women’s Law Center 

Citizen Action of New York

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

Child Care for Every Family Network