Linda McMahon dotes on students from a distance as she tiptoes between classrooms, dipping in just long enough to observe a bit of the lesson, whisper questions to the principal, and give the teacher an encouraging word. Class is just too important to interrupt.
Once back in the hallway, like a proud grandmother, she beams. If they get what they need, and if they work hard enough, they can become architects or engineers, doctors or lawyers, well-paid welders or plumbers. The possibilities are endless. The kids really can do just about anything they want.
Unless, of course, one of them dreams of leading the Education Department. It might not be there when they grow up. McMahon says she plans to save education by shutting down the federal agency responsible for overseeing it. The mission, at times, can feel incongruent.
She is sending control of K-12 schooling to the states but tightening the federal grip on colleges and universities. She has flexed every authority at her disposal, like no Republican before her, but while trying to end those powers altogether. She intends to be the last secretary of education. “That’s the president’s charge to me,” McMahon tells RealClearPolitics. “I’m going to do my very best to make sure that happens.” Because Trump promised on the campaign trail to end what Jimmy Carter wrought.
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