Earlier this week, Frontlines TPUSA White House Correspondent Monica Paige interviewed US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. During the interview, McMahon discussed with Paige various education-related topics including literacy, trade schools, and state autonomy in education.
The department has endeavored to scale down the size of its staff since the Trump administration took office in 2025, while also advancing pro-American and anti-DEI educational initiatives in US schools.
McMahon briefly discussed the Department of Education’s “History Rocks! Tour,” an initiative in which the department is partnering with Turning Point USA as the nation nears its 250th year of existence. This tour, according to a DOE press release, will highlight the “excellence in patriotic education, civic literacy, and student-driven civics projects in classrooms across the country.”
Concerning literacy, McMahon emphasized phonics, and “going back to basics,” to help US states with increasing reading proficiency levels among students.
“My number one priority as the Secretary of Education is literacy,” McMahon stated. “Because I believe if we can’t read, you can’t go on to perform other tasks, you can’t be successful in anything you’re doing if you can’t read.”
She further emphasized the need for education to be restored to the states, and that the states take chief responsibility for the education of their youth with little or no influence from the federal government. One major area in which states should recognize their autonomy over education is in curriculum, she said.
The interview turned to the topic of trade schools as an alternative to regular high schools. McMahon said the DOE is developing a pathway to award both a diploma and a certificate so students can go into the workforce immediately upon graduation.
