Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Condemning Donald Trump’s Unfit Nominee For Secretary Of Education, Linda McMahon

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the vote to advance Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education, emphasizing that her loyalty to President Trump and his plan to eliminate the Department of Education entirely will lead to massive cuts to public education. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Today, the Senate will vote on whether to advance the nomination of Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education.

Ms. McMahon’s nomination comes as President Trump has been clear about cutting funding for education and abolishing the Department of Education entirely.

Is Ms. McMahon going to go along? I hope not.

Cutting education is not what the American people want. The American people don’t want a radical, out-of-touch billionaire slashing funding for public schools.

When you slash federal funding for education, it leads to higher taxes back home.

When you slash federal funding for education, that’s what happens. Since so many of our school districts – urban, suburban, rural – depend on this federal money, it leads to higher property taxes for people back home.

If you eliminate the Department of Education as a whole, that means local communities are forced to pick up the tab to fund the schools.

It means families in these communities will pay in the form of higher property taxes to make up the loss of federal funding.

But communities will also be forced to slash other programs to make room for funding for schools.

Again, this is not what the American people want. This is not what they voted for.

Ms. McMahon, in my judgment, is not qualified to lead America’s public education. She seems not to care very much about it.

But that’s precisely why President Trump nominated her: she’s the perfect choice to bring our public education system burning to the ground.

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