Senate Democrats are throwing down the gauntlet against Education Secretary Linda McMahon over a bold plan to overhaul the Department of Education, as The Hill reports.
At the heart of this showdown is a controversial announcement from Nov. 18, when the department revealed plans to shift major responsibilities to other federal agencies, a move Democrats are calling unlawful and a direct attack on public education.
Let’s rewind to the starting line: on Nov. 18, the Education Department dropped a bombshell, stating it would transfer core functions -- think over half of federal funds for K-12 programs and billions for higher education -- to agencies like Labor, Interior, State, and Health and Human Services.
The department framed this as a push to “return education to the states” and cut through bureaucratic red tape, a classic conservative goal that sounds noble on paper. But is this just a slick way to sidestep Congress and chip away at a federal agency some on the right have long wanted to axe?
Fast forward to Thursday, when a coalition of Senate Democrats, led by heavyweights like Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), fired off a scathing letter to McMahon. They didn’t mince words, labeling the transfers “illegal” and accusing her of undermining the very foundation of public education.
Joined by 32 other senators, including Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the group argued that Congress explicitly tasked the Education Department with these duties, not a patchwork of other agencies unprepared for the burden. It’s a fair point -- shouldn’t such a seismic shift at least get a nod from lawmakers?
The Democrats’ letter pulls no punches, warning that McMahon’s plan creates “even more bureaucracy that states, school districts, and educational institutions across America will have to expend time and resources navigating at the expense of students and families.” If the goal was to streamline, this sounds more like a detour into a bureaucratic swamp.
They also pointed out a glaring hole: the agencies slated to take on these massive education funds -- like billions in grants and programs -- haven’t offered a shred of detail on how they’ll manage it. Are we supposed to just trust that the Department of Interior is ready to tackle Title I funding?
Adding fuel to the fire, the senators accused the administration of rushing these changes for political points, consequences be damned. They urged McMahon to hit the brakes and refocus on actually supporting schools and students, not dismantling the system.
Warren didn’t stop at signing the letter -- she took her fight public with a blistering op-ed in USA Today on Monday, calling for McMahon’s resignation. In it, she wrote, “When the secretary is working to make class sizes bigger, take away aides for kids with special needs, leave college students at the mercy of financial predators, and make the whole department nonfunctional, it’s time for new leadership.” Ouch -- that’s not just a critique, it’s intended to be a knockout punch.
Warren’s words reflect a broader frustration among progressives who see this restructuring as part of a larger agenda to hollow out federal oversight of education. From a conservative lens, though, isn’t there something to be said for shaking up a system that’s often criticized as bloated and out of touch?
Still, the senators’ letter raises a thorny issue about process -- these transfers are being framed as interagency agreements, which are technically legal, but Democrats argue they’re not meant for effectively shuttering an agency. If the endgame is to put the Education Secretary “out of a job,” as they claim, shouldn’t that be a debate for Congress, not a backdoor deal?
This isn’t a new fight -- President Trump has been upfront about wanting to scale back or eliminate the Education Department, a stance cemented by an executive order in March to dismantle it. He’s promised to protect key programs like Pell Grants and funding for students with disabilities, but the broader goal of taking “all lawful steps to shut down the department” looms large.
From a right-of-center view, returning control to states could empower local communities to tailor education without federal overreach -- a principle many conservatives champion. Yet, even sympathizers might wonder if this scattershot approach risks leaving students and schools in the lurch during the transition.
As this battle unfolds, The Hill has reached out to the Education Department for a response, but the silence so far speaks volumes. For now, McMahon faces a fired-up opposition determined to stop what they see as a reckless teardown of public education -- and conservatives may need to brace for a fight over whether this reform is genius or just plain chaos.
