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 dollars for K‑12 and higher education are distributed and overseen. Ranking Member Bobby Scott warned that cuts and personnel changes could undermine the department's ability to meet statutory obligations, and cited a May 22 federal court order that temporarily restrained some of the administration's workforce reductions and reassignments.

McMahon described several concrete priorities in the proposal: seeking "skin in the game" from colleges to limit institutions' incentive to raise tuition; simplifying federal student aid paperwork and repayment options; supporting workforce Pell grants for short-term training; and increasing the federal charter schools program. She said conversations with governors, teachers and parents informed the approach.

Democrats on the panel pressed McMahon on likely consequences. Representative Bobby Scott said the department has proposed firing or reassigning a large share of staff, halted or renegotiated Education Sciences projects and paused some grants, which he said would impair services for low-income students and those with disabilities. McMahon said contracted services for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and certain ongoing data collection were being maintained while the department reviews program spending.

Committee members also questioned specific line items: McMahon acknowledged the budget would zero out or reduce some competitive grant lines cited by members (including some adult education and magnet school funding mentioned by lawmakers) but said states and local districts could deploy broader formula funds to meet local priorities. She and several members agreed to follow up with written questions and staff-level briefings on program details and statutory compliance.

The hearing produced no votes. Members on both sides said they planned additional oversight and follow-up requests for documents, including written budget justifications and analyses of the administrative steps the department is taking. Chairman Tim Wahlberg told McMahon the committee expected the department to supply requested materials and to cooperate with congressional oversight."You are required to provide accurate information to the committee," Wahlberg said when he introduced the secretary.

The committee left several open issues for further inquiry: the exact allocation of proposed cuts across programs, the statutory pathway for any reorganization that would shift functions away from the department, and the implementation timeline if Congress does not adopt enabling legislation. McMahon reiterated that any steps to close or transfer functions would be pursued lawfully and in coordination with Congress.