House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee Holds Department of Education Budget Hearing

On May 21, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations subcommittee held a hearing about the Department of Education’s budget request for the upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testifying for the committee. The hearing was sharply divided, with subcommittee Democrats, led by Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), extensively questioning Secretary McMahon about the Trump Administration’s decimation of the Department. Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and the committee’s other Republican members praised the proposed cuts and focused their questioning on other aspects of the proposed budget, such as school choice.

Ranking Member DeLauro used her opening statement to emphasize proposed cuts to the Department to the tune of $12 billion, roughly 15 percent. Secretary McMahon responded by stating that the cuts to the Department were intended to get rid of unnecessary bureaucracy and return control of education to states through new block-grant funding, echoing language included in the Trump Administration’s “Skinny Budget” for FY 2026 (see previous COSSA coverage here). Throughout the hearing, Ranking Member DeLauro continued to reiterate that the new block-grant funding, which would eliminate 18 competitive grant programs, would be detrimental to education services in the country, including the Department’s ability to collect accurate statistical information on education programs.

Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) also joined this line of questioning by asking Secretary McMahon whether she intended to use the $4.3 billion Congress lawfully appropriated to those 18 programs in FY 2025; Secretary McMahon was evasive in her answer, which concerned many members of the Committee. As the FY 2026 Appropriations process ramps up, we expect to see sustained contention over cuts to the Department of Education and their legality.

A recording of the hearing can be found here. 

This article was contributed by COSSA Intern Eva Lettiere.