Last week, in a 12-11 party-line vote, Linda McMahon’s nomination as Secretary of Education passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The next step is a vote by the full Senate. That’s likely to happen soon—by the middle of this week—so there’s no time to waste. Urge senators to oppose her nomination with an email, phone call, or both.

NEA opposes Ms. McMahon’s nomination for many reasons. She would prioritize efforts to redirect public funds from public schools to private and religious schools, and carry out the Project 2025 plan to dismantle the Department of Education, privatize the student loan system, narrow fundamental student rights and protections, and more.

Moreover, Ms. McMahon’s testimony at her Feb. 13 confirmation hearing suggested that she would be an unprecedented micromanager of what is taught—or even said—in classrooms across America and after-school clubs for students.

On the legislative front, the Senate advanced its version of the FY2025 budget resolution, whose primary focus is immigration.

The House plans to vote on a more expansive FY2025 budget resolution next week, which calls for more tax cuts for billionaires—paid for by everyone else. Consequences could include massive cuts in funding for preK-12 public schools, student loan programs, school meals, other food aid, Medicaid/CHIP coverage for nearly half the children in America, and more.

In addition to funding tax breaks for billionaires, these cuts would also pay for the administration’s ramped-up deportation machinery: immigration raids in schools, churches, and hospitals and the deportation of Dreamers, farmworkers, childcare providers, and other essential workers. These actions will rip apart families, devastate local economies, and raise the cost of everyday life even more.

Tell Congress what you think!

In solidarity,