NJEA’s officers, President Sean Spiller, Vice President Steve Beatty and Secretary-Treasurer Petal Robertson, issued this statement on the confirmation of Linda McMahon as secretary of the United States Department of Education
“The Senate’s vote to confirm Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education proves what we’ve seen over and over in the last few weeks: no nominee is too unserious or unqualified to serve in the Trump administration.
“A billionaire professional wrestling executive and failed political candidate, McMahon has no credentials for her new position. More concerning, she has no desire to lead the United States Department of Education. She has declared her support for the president’s plan to dismantle the department, which will be devastating to students and families across New Jersey and the United States who rely on public education as their ladder to the American Dream.
“Her casual willingness to betray working class American families to serve a crass political agenda demonstrates why she should never have been nominated, much less confirmed to this position. The senators who voted to confirm her have betrayed every American public school family.
“As educators and advocates, we will always stand with our students and their families. We will fight the harmful Trump-McMahon agenda of funding cuts, privatization, and demonization of public education.”