What We're Watching

Education Dept’s future in question as McMahon begins confirmation process

Linda McMahon testifies before the Senate Health, Education, and Labor Committee during a nomination hearing as Secretary of Education in Washington, DC, USA, on Feb. 13, 2025.

Linda McMahon testifies before the Senate Health, Education, and Labor Committee during a nomination hearing as Secretary of Education in Washington, DC, USA, on Feb. 13, 2025.

Lenin Nolly/NurPhoto via Reuters
Linda McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, on Thursday began her Senate confirmation hearing to run the Department of Education, which Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency have vowed to shrink or shut down.

McMahon said that she would present a plan for downsizing the department that Republican senators would be able to get on board with. She said that while there were areas of the DOE that could be eliminated, states would still receive federal funding for schools. Project 2025 has laid out a plan for moving the core responsibilities of the DOE – like civil rights enforcement, student loans, and research – to other federal agencies in order to dismantle the department without fully eliminating it, a step that would require congressional approval.

Conservatives have sought to get rid of the DOE since it was created in 1979, arguing that educational decisions should be made by the states alone. The department doesn’t control curriculums or teachers, but it does provide outsized financial support for low-income areas and helps cover the higher costs of educating students with greater needs.

Meanwhile, the Senate officially confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary in a largely party-line vote on Thursday. All Democrats opposed his nomination, while all Republicans supported it, except for Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell. McConnell, who survived polio as a child, broke with his party due to Kennedy’s anti-vaccine stance.

More For You

A woman prepares to throw trash on a street in downtown Havana, Cuba, February 16, 2026.
REUTERS/Norlys Perez

The lights are going out in Cuba. There are no planes landing at Havana’s international airport; the jet fuel's gone. Buses have stopped running across most of the capital.

Chris, an Army veteran, started his Walmart journey over 25 years ago as an hourly associate. Today, he manages a Distribution Center and serves as a mentor, helping others navigate their own paths to success. At Walmart, associates have the opportunity to take advantage of the pathways, perks, and pay that come with the job — with or without a college degree. In fact, more than 75% of Walmart management started as hourly associates. Learn more about how over 130,000 associates were promoted into roles of greater responsibility and higher pay in FY25.

Last week, at the Munich Security Conference, a group of global technology providers, including Microsoft, announced the Trusted Tech Alliance — committed to shared, verifiable principles for trusted, transparent, and resilient technology across borders. At a moment of economic volatility and zero-sum technological competition, countries and customers are demanding greater accountability from technology providers. The Alliance addresses this by bringing together companies from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America around shared commitments: transparent governance, secure development practices, supply chain oversight, open digital ecosystem, and respect for the rule of law — ensuring the benefits of emerging technologies strengthen public trust while driving job creation and economic growth. Explore the Trusted Tech Alliance here.