“[Y]ou have a minimal track record on education issues and strikingly little experience pertaining to education policy,” wrote the senators. “This lack of a public record means that the American people have not been afforded the opportunity to evaluate your views on topics related to the Education Secretary’s core responsibilities.” 

Given McMahon’s lack of experience, the senators pushed McMahon to explain her views and the extent to which they overlap with certain extreme stances taken by President Trump, his Project 2025 allies, and President Trump’s former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. 

These include her views as they relate to:  

1. President Trump’s extreme views, including his repeated call to “abolish ED” and his reported plan to do so by executive order; his history of proposing severe cuts to the Department of Education’s budget, and his proposal to eliminate the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which millions of teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public servants have relied upon for debt relief. 
    
   “President Trump has said that he wants you to ‘put [your]self out of a job’ by helping him eliminate the Department. The harm that such a proposal would cause to students and families is grave,” wrote the senators. 
2. Project 2025’s extreme proposals, such as allowing unaccredited, often predatory, schools to receive federal funding; privatizing the federal student loan system, leaving students at the mercy of unaccountable private lenders; and replacing existing student loan income-driven repayment (IDR) plans with a new repayment plan that would raise costs for millions of Americans. 
3. Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ extreme policies, such as rescinding a rule that would hold shady for-profit colleges accountable for graduates’ employment outcomes; obstructing federal and state regulators’ investigations into the misconduct of federal loan servicers; refusing to enforce existing regulations requiring that ED provide debt relief to students who were defrauded or misled by their schools, and dismantling the team at ED responsible for investigating predatory for-profit colleges. 
    
   “During her tenure, Secretary DeVos implemented numerous policies that harmed students while allowing incompetent student loan servicers and greedy for-profit colleges to rip off students and taxpayers,” wrote the senators. “The American people deserve to know whether you will repeat Secretary DeVos’s extreme policies.”  

Senators Kim and Warren are demanding that McMahon arrive at her February 13 hearing prepared with answers. 

“We need a higher education system that is accessible to all Americans, not just those with the means to afford skyrocketing costs without taking on student debt,” concluded the senators. “The next Secretary of Education must fight for the best interests of students and families, not greedy and predatory for-profit colleges and inept loan servicers, and must reject extreme policies and efforts to eliminate the Department.” 

Senator Kim works to expand access to opportunity through education as a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). Kim also sits on the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and the Special Committee on Aging. Learn more about Senator Kim’s service on behalf of New Jersey here. 

###