Linda McMahon's Tenure as Education Secretary: An Overview
Linda McMahon's appointment as Education Secretary has sparked both hope and concern among educators. With a background primarily in business and wrestling entertainment, her experience in the field of education is limited. This article will explore the initial reactions to her appointment, some of the challenges she has faced, and the policy changes she has initiated.
Initial Reactions and Concerns
Upon assuming office, Linda McMahon, who served in President Donald Trump’s first term as the head of the Small Business Administration and is the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, has officially been on the job for a month and a half-and so far, many educators say they’re not impressed with her performance. While she graduated from college with a French degree and a teaching certificate, she never taught. She served a yearlong stint on Connecticut’s state school board more than a decade ago and has been a longtime trustee of Sacred Heart University, a private religious school in Connecticut.
Some educators express apprehension, citing her lack of practical experience in education. "In this current time of education, we really need someone with strong leadership in a role such as that and also someone with deep knowledge and lived experiences in education," said Briana Morales, an 11th and 12th grade English teacher in the East St. Louis, Ill., district and the 2023 Illinois Teacher of the Year. "It doesn’t seem like [McMahon] checks any of those boxes."
Others remain optimistic, pointing to her experience running a large organization and navigating bureaucracy as the head of the Small Business Administration. "I have, I think, more hope for her than a lot of other people do since she ran, or helped to run, a large organization and also does have some bureaucracy experience as the head of the Small Business Administration," said Daniel Buck, an educator at a charter school in Wisconsin and a senior visiting fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
Gaffes and Public Perception
McMahon's tenure has not been without its share of missteps. Earlier this month, McMahon mistakenly referred to artificial intelligence (AI) as A1, the same name as the steak sauce brand, at an appearance at the ASU+GSV conference in San Diego. And last month, during an interview with Fox News, she couldn’t tell the interviewer what IDEA, the acronym for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the federal special education law, stood for.
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These incidents have drawn criticism and raised questions about her understanding of key educational concepts and policies. Responding to the IDEA blunder, Luisa Sparrow, a special education teacher in Boston and the 2025 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year, said, "I think the issue was not just the confusion over what the acronym [IDEA] is, but she didn’t seem to have a strong understanding of really what it does." "[McMahon] was referring to it as programs when it’s actually [a] federal law that protects the rights of over 7 million children in our country," Sparrow said.
However, some argue that these gaffes should not overshadow the policy agenda she is pursuing. "Should you know what IDEA is? Yeah, probably. But I care much more about the policy agenda that [McMahon’s] pushing forward than her trivial pursuit of knowledge of the minutia of federal education policy," said Buck.
The A.1. Debacle
The "A1" incident at the ASU+GSV Summit gained widespread attention, even prompting a response from A.1. Sauce itself.
During the panel, McMahon twice referred to "A1" in response to a question about how education and tech entrepreneurs could develop technology for schools. She said, "You know, AI development, I mean how can we educate at the speed of light if we don't have the best technology around, you know, to do that? I heard, I think it was a letter or a report that I heard this morning, I wish I could remember the source, but that there is a school system that's going to start making sure that first-graders or even pre-Ks have A1 teaching, you know, every year starting, you know, that far down in the grades. And that's just a, that's a wonderful thing. Kids are sponges, you they, just absorb everything and so wasn't all that long ago that it's: 'We're going to have internet in our schools, whoop!' Now, OK, let's do, see, A1 and how can that be helpful? How can it be helpful in one-on-one instruction, how can it be helpful in absorbing, you know, more information for those fast learners?"
A.1. Sauce capitalized on McMahon's blunder by posting an Instagram post on their verified account saying, "You heard her. Every school should have access to A.1." The image featured an A.1. bottle labeled “For education purposes only,” with a bold banner declaring, “Agree. Best to start them early.”
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Kraft Heinz, the company that owns A.1. Sauce, saw the gaffe as an opportunity for some lighthearted marketing. "We had just this moment of thinking, ‘A.1. is an iconic brand,’” Jess Vultaggio, vice president of creative culture and effectiveness at Kraft Heinz, told ADWEEK. “So we were like, ‘We have to do something with this. Should we do something with this? We have to do something with this.’”
The brand jumped on Instagram last week with a spoofed ad for a McMahon-inspired A.1. bottle, complete with a photoshopped version of the sauce with the label “For educational purposes only” accompanied by the slogan, “Agree, best to start them early.” The post was captioned, “You heard her. I’m sure some will have a beef with her over her comments, but maybe they’ll feel different after they let it marinate around in their heads for a bit. So, what do you think? Would your life have turned out better if you had A1 teaching available in first grade?"
The rapid response from A.1. Sauce demonstrates the power of social media and the ability of brands to capitalize on current events.
Policy Changes and Initiatives
McMahon was tasked by Trump with dismantling the Education Department and has already begun efforts to do so by reducing the workforce by nearly half. Many educators say they’ve been caught off guard by many of the policy changes initiated by McMahon’s Education Department and feel like communication has been sparse. For example, in late March, the department abruptly told school districts that the deadline to spend remaining COVID-19 relief funds had already passed, and that it was revoking the extensions it had granted.
Morales, the former Illinois teacher of the year, said her school district had been using the pandemic-relief funds to improve school infrastructure, including heating and cooling across 10 buildings. But a letter sent by McMahon said schools had run out of time to use the funds. "The letter was just very unprofessional," said Morales.
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McMahon has defended the Trump administration’s deep cuts to the Education Department, saying that the agency isn’t effectively serving students and it’s “time to do something different. And it’s not through bureaucracy in Washington where it happens.” But educators still have questions about what would happen to certain programs or responsibilities if the Education Department were dismantled. "I’ve heard some of these different responsibilities could be handed off to different departments and stuff like that, but some of these responsibilities have come up since the [Education] Department was created and those other departments really are not set up to administer these services, " said Sparrow, the special education teacher in Boston.
These actions are creating a “shaky foundation,” said Chase Christensen, the superintendent and principal of the Sheridan County school district in Wyoming, adding that this could cause educators to leave the field. "For a long time, our society has rewarded that choice [becoming an educator] with a venerable position, one of honor and respect from those around us, and I see that being torn down right now," he said.
Trump's Vision
Trump has ordered the dismantling of the Education Department, calling for the "return of authority" over education to the state and local level. McMahon echoed this sentiment during her same roundtable talk at the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit, stating, "When President Trump asked me about this job, I told him, I don’t come from the world of education. And he said, I’m looking for an executive. I’m looking for someone who has leadership and management skills because of what we need to do with education in our country."
The Importance of Educator Input
Some educators were hopeful that McMahon’s lack of practical experience would motivate her to engage with and get input from those in the field, said Terri Daniels, a principal at Folsom Middle School in California and the 2025 National Advocacy Champion of the Year, an award given by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. On behalf of NASSP, Daniels, along with members of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, invited McMahon to the National School Leaders Advocacy conference in March.
Many educators say they’ve been caught off guard by many of the policy changes initiated by McMahon’s Education Department and feel like communication has been sparse.
Impact on the Education Field
And errors like calling AI A1 or forgetting the full name of IDEA reflect poorly not just on McMahon, but on the education field more broadly, Morales said. “When you see someone in one of the highest offices as secretary of education not knowing what she’s talking about, what does the public then think of educators who are underneath her?” said Morales. “I think it just has a bigger impact than she realizes.”
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