Linda McMahon

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Key Figures

OMB Director Russell Vought and Education Secretary Linda McMahon directed the freeze of approximately $2 billion in education grants that Congress had appropriated for fiscal year 2026, leaving more than 30 separate K-12 and higher education programs without access to their authorized funds. Affected programs include competitive grants for teacher training, community schools, magnet schools, and education research — programs the administration had proposed eliminating in its budget requests. The administration had not submitted a formal rescission request to Congress as required by the Impoundment Control Act before withholding the funds. Legal experts described the action as an unlawful impoundment under the 1974 law.

The Education Department published a proposed rule on April 17, 2026, replacing the Obama-era Gainful Employment standard with a "Do No Harm" earnings test requiring all college programs to prove graduates earn more than workers with only a high school diploma. The test takes effect July 1, 2026, with results published in 2027 and penalties beginning in 2028. Programs failing two consecutive years lose access to federal student loans. Critics said the rule was weaker than Gainful Employment because it removed the debt-to-earnings ratio measure.

The Trump administration formally completed OELA's dissolution in mid-April 2026, concluding the 90-day notice process. Title III grants moved to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education's Division of State Support; professional development grants moved to the Office of Effective Educator Development Programs; Native American and Alaska Native language programs moved to the Office of Indian Education. OELA, created by the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, had replaced the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs. (The 74, Apr. 17, 2026)

The Trump administration announced on March 19, 2026, that the Education Department would transfer its $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio to the Treasury Department in a phased agreement. Treasury will first assume management of approximately $180 billion in defaulted loans, with all remaining loans to follow. Secretary Linda McMahon cited a 25 percent borrower default rate as evidence the Education Department had failed at loan management. Senator Elizabeth Warren called on the department to rescind the transfer, arguing it lacked congressional authorization.

The U.S. Department of Education issued a formal demand on March 19, 2026, warning Maine it would lose all K-12 federal funding unless the state excluded transgender girls from girls sports by a set deadline. Maine received approximately $250 million in annual federal education funding supporting Title I and IDEA programs for low-income and disabled students. Governor Janet Mills had previously told Trump at a February meeting that Maine would not comply with executive order restrictions on transgender athletes. The department referred enforcement to the DOJ.