As someone with multiple years of school left, I really don’t want someone who’s homophobic nor a bystander to sexual assault and pedophilia to make decisions about the future of my peers’ and my education.
Linda McMahon was chosen as Trump’s Education Secretary. Not only was she a founder of the World Wrestling Entertainment with her husband, but she worked as the president and later CEO from 1980 to 2009. She’s been accused of failing to prevent sexual assault during her time at the WWE as well, and is a huge Trump supporter, donating millions of dollars to his campaign. McMahon is awaiting a Senate confirmation hearing.
McMahon is someone who has little to no experience in a school environment as an adult. As someone who is currently a student and someone with direct family in education as well, I feel scared as to how everyone will be affected by Trump’s personal choice in his cabinet that is solely based on support. Her beliefs and actions will poorly affect the LGBTQ+ community in particular and harm them deeply.
The Secretary of Education is responsible for direction, supervision, and coordination of all activities involving a school’s education and processes overall. The Education Department is the principal adviser to the President on federal policies, programs, and activities related to education in the U.S.
Miguel Cardona is the previous Education Secretary under former President Joe Biden, and he has used his position to give schools an advantage to operate better and utilize education by funding them immensely.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, “He oversaw the distribution of historic $170 billion in federal education funding for PreK to 12 schools and colleges.” Additionally, Cardona is exemplary in his education and background. According to the U.S Department of Education, “Secretary Cardona earned a bachelor’s degree from Central Connecticut State University, a master’s degree, two additional advanced leadership certifications, and a doctoral degree from the University of Connecticut.”
But unlike Cardona, McMahon is not a logical choice.
Countless American school officials are aware and verbal about her little to no experience in the K-12 department.
“It’s definitely a pick out of the normal, and that is intentional,” said Casey Cobb, an educational policy professor at the University of Connecticut, McMahon’s home state. Cobb was interviewed in an Education Week article, a news organization that covers k-12 education.
Cobb described McMahon as an intentional choice, saying how Trump only picked her based on her support for him.
Since he’s deciding to change up the country during his campaign, his words about abolishing the Department of Education influenced his choice on who he picked for Secretary.
If he follows through with the plan of removing the Education Department, his choice of McMahon may have been purposeful due to her inexperience in education.
What McMahon does have experience in is wrestling – not education.
She previously ran WWE for decades and her record is concerning, regarding kids. A lawsuit from October 2024 came out on her involvement in a grooming and sexual assault incident involving children that happened in the 1980s. According to the New York Times, McMahon knew about the allegations of underage boys being abused by employees, and the story has haunted the WWE for decades. She decided to keep quiet, most likely to protect her franchise. Sounds familiar, right?
If this person covered up sexual assault cases, we need to think about the effect her decisions could have on schools. If those characteristics follow us into the school environment, millions of students could be at risk of their trauma and stories being disregarded. We need someone who will protect student victims and get their stories heard.
According to Stop Sexual Assault In Schools, “A large majority of students experience some form of sexual harassment during their middle and high school years.”
Even though McMahon has not been found guilty, she was a part of keeping those employees’ stories quiet.
According to a Nov. 20, 2024 CNN article, “Under the new education secretary, the department may use the formal regulatory process to undo changes the Biden administration made to Title IX that sought to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students.”
Title IX, a federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, protects students rights in the event of sexual assault. As closeted students come out as queer, close-minded students who target them would benefit from the undoing of Title IX.
A GLSEN report identified that 86.3% of LGBTQ students experienced harassment or assault based on their identity or sexual orientation, and 58.3% were sexually harassed, which is what Title IX sought out to handle.
At a rally in Wisconsin, Trump stated, “On day one, I will sign a new executive order to cut Federal funding of any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content onto the lives of our children.”
The hypocritical “racial and sexual content that is being pushed onto children in schools” is rich coming from him. With his multiple sexual assault cases starting in the 1970s’ and racist rally quotes, if anything, he’s the one pushing that content.
Since McMahon, her husband, and the help of Elon Musk have donated more than $37 million combined to Trump’s campaign, it’s clear he trusts her to enforce his beliefs, especially if he put her in charge of the Education Department.
If those rules reach Creek, queer students will be forced to hide who they are and not have support in the place they should feel safe in.
