Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) introduced a resolution Thursday to impeach U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, the news coming as President Donald Trump’s administration moves toward closing down the government agency.
In her press release, Bonamici claimed McMahon “violated her oath of office, made false and misleading statements to Congress, and violated federal law by illegally transferring the operations of multiple offices and more than 140 programs under the Department of Education to other federal agencies without the approval of Congress.”
She has been urging other members to join the effort. During remarks on the House floor, Bonamici claimed McMahon did not have the authority to close down the department.
“Secretary McMahon has betrayed students, families, and educators by dismantling and destroying the Department of Education without coming to Congress for approval,” she said:
However, months after President Trump selected McMahon to serve as secretary, he signed an executive order in March 2025 calling for the dismantling of the department, Breitbart News reported:
Flanked by school children, lawmakers, parental rights advocates, and Republican governors from across the United States, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Trump signed an order declaring that “the experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars — and the unaccountable bureaucracy those programs and dollars support — has plainly failed our children, our teachers, and our families.”
“When President Carter created the Federal Education Department in 1979, it was opposed by members of his own cabinet as well as the American Federation of Teachers, the New York Times Editorial Board, and the famed Democrat Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. History has proven them right — absolutely right,” Trump said in a speech before signing the order.
The department in March moved toward shutting down by shifting student lending to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, according to Breitbart News.
“The move is part of the ED’s efforts to adhere to President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for department’s dismantling. Officially ending the department would take an act of Congress, as it was Congress that created it 45 years ago under President Jimmy Carter, but the agency has been looking for ways to decentralize its power and slash its workforce while waiting on GOP lawmakers to deliver on Trump’s campaign promise,” the report detailed.
In a social media post on Monday, McMahon explained her mission.
“President Trump tasked me with fulfilling an overhaul that the American people want to see,” she wrote:
“Gone are the days where we are fighting for a bureaucratic building in Washington, DC over our students and their long-term success,” McMahon concluded.
Bonamici’s press release noted, “The legislation is cosponsored by Representatives Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), John Garamendi (D-CA), Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Andrea Salinas (D-OR), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), Mark Takano (D-CA), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Nikema Williams (D-GA).”
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