Op-Ed: Tommy Schultz: 2024 was a seismic shift in American education, led by Donald Trump and Linda McMahon

With Linda McMahon leading the Department of Education, America’s families will have an advocate committed to empowering parents and unlocking every child’s potential.

Election night 2024 marked a turning point in American education politics. Victories of pro-school-choice candidates in states like Texas, combined with President-elect Donald Trump’s bold education freedom mandate, signaled the end of the teachers’ unions’ 40- year dominance in American politics. For decades, conventional wisdom — and billions of union-backed political dollars — made supporting school choice a risk for candidates.

But this year, voters broke that dam.

Trump’s campaign was crystal clear: school choice is a top priority for his administration. Calling it “one of the most important things we’re going to be doing,” Trump pledged to enact federal legislation that puts parents back in control of their children’s education. His nomination of Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education drives this commitment home.

Why Linda McMahon is the right choice for Secretary of Education

Linda McMahon’s nomination underscores President Trump’s intent to enact bold, transformative reforms. As a proven business leader and staunch advocate for school choice, McMahon brings the vision and experience needed to overhaul the system.

Her track record speaks for itself. As co-founder of WWE, McMahon transformed a regional company into a global success story through innovation, accountability, and relentless focus on delivering results — qualities sorely missing in America’s education bureaucracy. Given that the federal Department of Education is full of 4,000 employees overseeing knots of red tape that could circle the globe, it’s in desperate need of shakeup.

Equally important, McMahon has been a stalwart supporter of education freedom. As chair of the America First Policy Institute, she partnered with our team at the American Federation for Children to successfully advance school-choice legislation in dozens of states across the country. Now, as future Secretary of Education, she is poised to bring that same vision to the national stage.

A historic opportunity for school choice

The centerpiece of Trump and McMahon’s agenda is the Educational Choice for Children Act. This federal legislation will enable parents in every state to access tax-incentivized scholarships, giving them the freedom to choose where, when, and how their children are educated — whether that’s in public school, private school, or at home. Individuals who donate to local scholarship organizations will receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit, providing a robust incentive for community investment in education.

Perhaps most strikingly, blue states like California and New York stand to benefit immensely from this initiative. High-population states that have long resisted school choice will no longer be able to deny their residents access to education freedom.

Millions of families will finally gain control over their children’s education, breaking free from systems that have failed them for generations. It’s a sorely needed movement that’s taken many states by storm already.

Texas exemplifies the biggest shift that took place in 2024. After 21 Republican lawmakers blocked Gov. Greg Abbott’s school-choice bill in 2023, school-choice advocates fought back, challenging those incumbents in primaries. Nine of the 14 anti-school-choice Republicans running for re-election were defeated, a stunning rebuke to the old political order.

In the general election, buoyed by historic turnout and a surge in Hispanic support, pro-school-choice Republicans prevailed — winning even in districts that President Joe Biden carried in 2020. Both Democrats and Republicans made education freedom a defining issue, and every pro-school-choice incumbent emerged victorious.

The result: Texas now has a school-choice majority in the state legislature. Once Texas passes universal school choice, half of American families — across 34 states — will be eligible for similar programs. And ECCA promises to bring that freedom to all fifty.

Breaking the bureaucratic stranglehold

Linda McMahon’s leadership will be critical to dismantling the bloated education bureaucracy that has long stifled local decision-making. Federal funds currently pass through layers of red tape, with strings attached for harmful ideological mandates.

Under McMahon’s leadership, block-granting these funds directly to states will restore local control, improve efficiency, and allow communities to focus on what truly matters: student success.

This approach will give schools the flexibility to innovate and meet the needs of their families, especially those in underserved or low-income communities. It’s a common sense solution that prioritizes families and teachers over distant Washington bureaucrats.

At the same time, McMahon will tackle the dysfunction in the federal student loan system. Under her leadership, the Department of Education will prioritize accountability, reintroduce private lending options, and eliminate wasteful, ineffective programs. Moving this program over to the Treasury Department alone will save countless wasted dollars.

The future of education is now

The significance of this moment cannot be overstated. With Linda McMahon leading the Department of Education, America’s families will have an advocate committed to empowering parents and unlocking every child’s potential. Her leadership over the massive bureaucracy, paired with Trump’s bold vision for school choice, will usher in a new era of innovation, opportunity, and excellence in education.

Tommy Schultz is the CEO of the American Federation for Children and AFC Victory Fund, the nation’s largest school choice advocacy and elections organizations.