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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: T24 0101 Linda McMahon to DOE (TV)
HEADLINE: Former wrestling executive named to head Trump education department
TEASER: Analysts across the political spectrum expect big change at the agency
PUBLISHED AT: (January 1, 2025 & TIME)
BYLINE: Laurel Bowman
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR:
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Aru Pande and Scott Stearns
SCRIPT EDITORS: Baragona SV
VIDEO SOURCE (S): Skype, AFP, AP
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV __ RADIO __
TRT: 3:25
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES:))
[[Like many of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, his choice to head the Department of Education, Linda McMahon, has been a major supporter and campaign donor. And for much of her career, she helped lead the World Wrestling Entertainment conglomerate. Despite what many analysts and educators see as her limited experience in education, big shifts in focus are expected under her leadership. VOA’s Laurel Bowman reports.]]
((NARRATOR))
During President-elect Donald Trump’s first term as president, Linda McMahon led the U.S. Small Business Administration. Trump's choice for Department of Education chief has served as a board member at a private college and briefly on a state board of education.
Some analysts are worried.
((Radio: Rachel Perera is with the Brookings Institution.))
((Rachel Perera, Brookings Institution)) ((credit Skype))
“She certainly doesn’t have much relevant experience in education either on the K-12 level or at the higher education level relative to previous education secretaries.”
((NARRATOR))
But many conservative analysts say she’ll do well at streamlining the department and limiting its authority … which is what they want.
((Radio: The Heritage Foundation’s Erika Donalds.))
((Erika Donalds, Heritage Foundation)) ((credit Skype))
“The Department of Education does not need to be run by an educator // (9:35) I do believe we need an experienced executive … someone who knows how to manage people, get things done, hold people accountable, understand results, and reporting of results.”
((GRAPHIC or video from classrooms or on college campuses))
((NARRATOR))
The department’s responsibilities include managing federal student loan and grant programs for higher education, overseeing civil rights and distributing funds for low-income students.
Some educators worry public education will be at risk under a Trump administration and that the most vulnerable students will suffer.
((Radio: Becky Pringle heads the National Education Association teachers’ union.))
((Becky Pringle, National Education Association President)) ((credit Skype))
“Students with disabilities, our LGBTQ+ students, our black, brown and indigenous students. Our students living in poverty // making higher education more expensive and further out of reach for middle class families.”
((NARRATOR))
Many conservatives say the department is bureaucratic and ineffective and should be abolished entirely. That’s not likely, but change is coming, say analysts from both sides of the political aisle.
((Again, Erica Donalds with the conservative Heritage Foundation.))
((Erika Donalds, Heritage Foundation)) ((credit Skype))
“What I see happening over the next four years is really a slimming down of the department substantially // and really getting the federal government out of the business of education as possible.”
((Radio: Wesley Whistle is with the liberal policy institute New America.))
((Wesley Whistle, New America)) ((credit Skype))
"You know the incoming Trump administration, I think, believes in cutting back a lot of the federal funding across all programs."
((NARRATOR))
Both sides may agree on promoting technical education as an alternative to a traditional university.
((Frederick Hess, the American Enterprise Institute)) ((credit Skype))
“What a lot of high school graduates, what a lot of workers want is less a four-year college degree and more the kind of training that’s going to help them get better jobs, that’s going to help them have more successful lives. Right now, it can be really difficult to use a lot of federal support for higher education at some of these programs.”
((NARRATOR))
A Republican-led education department can also be expected to attempt rolling back policies promoted by current President Joe Biden, such as protections for transgender students.
((Frederick Hess, American Enterprise Institute)) ((credit Skype))
“The department has weighed in very heavily on gender disputes in America’s schools, encouraging them to adopt policies which emphasize gender rather than biological sex. I think a Trump administration is likely to reverse direction on all of this.”
((NARRATOR))
McMahon will need to be approved by the Senate. Analysts expect she will be … with a Republican majority and more controversial Cabinet picks for them to consider.
((LAUREL BOWMAN, VOA NEWS, WASHINGTON))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJanuary 1, 2025 09:59 EST
BylineLaurel Bowman
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
