May 21 (UPI) -- Education Secretary Linda McMahon, testifying before a House subcommittee on Wednesday, defended a 15.3% leaner budget from last year as part of the department's "final mission."
President Donald Trump's budget request would cut funding to the Education Department by about $12 billion to wind down the agency. The House bill allocated $30.9 billion and the Senate version $31.9 billion.
She said her top priorities are support for charter schools, which would receive a $60 million funding increase, as well as improving literacy rates and returning education to states. Charters schools are the only ones with a budget funding rise.
"The fiscal year '26 budget will take a significant step toward that goal," McMahon told legislators on the House Committee on Appropriations' education subcommittee. "We seek to shrink federal bureaucracy, save taxpayer money and empower states who best know their local needs to manage education in this country."
As Republicans supported her plans, Democrats blasted her.
