House Education Committee Hears Secretary McMahon on FY2026 Budget and Plan to Shrink Department of Education

Secretary Linda McMahon told the House Committee on Education and Workforce that the administration's fiscal year 2026 budget would sharply reduce Department of Education funding and return more authority to states and local actors. "We are putting forward a responsible budget request that reduces the department funding by more than 15%," she said in her opening remarks during the oversight hearing.

The committee hearing focused on the administration's stated goals to "shrink federal bureaucracy, save taxpayer money, and empower states," McMahon said, and on a package of proposed changes that would consolidate some programs, increase funding for charter schools and short-term workforce training, and suspend certain diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) grants and contracts.

The budget proposal and the secretary's reorganization plan matter because they would alter how federal…