How an “iron river” of guns flows from the U.S. to Mexico
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Who is Linda McMahon and how might she influence the U.S. Education Department?
But first, President Trump's nominee for education secretary might end up leading a department that's on the administration's cutting block. Linda McMahon's confirmation hearing is today. She'll field questions from senators in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. At the same time, Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency are working to shrink the Department of Ed. Here's Trump yesterday answering a reporter who asked, how soon do you want the Department of Education to be closed?
Oh, I'd like it to be closed immediately. Look, the Department of Education's a big con job.
Shutting down the department altogether would require congressional approval. It's an idea that's been floated by Republicans for decades, as long as the Department of Education has existed. Many have argued education policy should be handled entirely at the state level. But recent efforts have failed.
Why is the Department of Education facing cuts?
In a vote last year, 60 Republicans joined every single Democrat in voting against abolishing the department. Janaki Mehta is an education reporter at NPR, and she told us millions of dollars worth of contracts for projects that were already underway have been canceled, including at the Institute of Education Sciences, or IES.
It's one of the country's biggest funders of education research. And slashing this research could mean that the public, so parents, educators, students, policymakers, district officials, they don't have access to key data about things like student achievement, enrollment, school safety, teaching strategies that help students, you name it.
According to Mehta's sources who have insight into these canceled contracts, at least one program was already being used in classrooms to help students make up lost ground in math, which schools have struggled to make progress on since the pandemic. An employee of IES told Mehta they don't understand how Musk can defend the cancellations as being efficient.
The way one of them put it is that by canceling these contracts, they have, in the words of this employee, have wasted millions and millions of dollars.
McMahon could face questions about this from senators today, along with questions about her limited background in education. She is a billionaire best known for leading WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment. But she served on Connecticut's State Board of Education for about a year before joining the first Trump administration as the head of the Small Business Administration.
What are the criticisms of Trump's education policy changes?
Mehta spoke with some of McMahon's former colleagues from the SBA who praised her work.
They told me that she was a really sharp leader who had an eye for bringing efficiency to the public sector. So if she's confirmed, we'll wait and see how those skills might translate to what she's stepping into.
McMahon has recently voiced support for expanding school choice at the K-12 level and providing more transparency in curricula. In higher education, she supports alternatives to college degrees like apprenticeships, which has bipartisan support. And according to The Washington Post, in her previous role on the Connecticut Board of Education, she supported diversity and equity initiatives, which marks a significant divergence from the president's education policy. So far, all of Trump's nominees to cabinet positions have been confirmed by the Senate, including Tulsi Gabbard to lead national intelligence. It was confirmed yesterday.
When President Trump pulled back from his threat of 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico, he said Mexico must beef up security along the border to stop the flow of illegal drugs like fentanyl into the U.S. Trump even suggested the Mexican government is allied with drug cartels, a claim Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum rejected as slander.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Who is Linda McMahon and how might she influence the U.S. Education Department?
0:34–1:23
2
Why is the Department of Education facing cuts?
1:23–2:58
3
What are the criticisms of Trump's education policy changes?
2:58–4:53
4
How are American guns impacting Mexico?
4:53–6:55
5
What is the 'Iron River' and how do guns get smuggled into Mexico?
6:55–8:31
6
How are gun manufacturers responding to legal challenges from Mexico?
8:31–14:09
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