Though the U.S. Senate failed in its bid to codify protections for girls and women against biological males on their sports teams, and in their public spaces, Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) remains confident Congress will pass laws necessary to back President Donald Trump.
That didn’t happen earlier this week. The Republican-led Senate couldn’t convince any Democrats to break ranks and end a filibuster on a bill, put forth by Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville, that would have denied federal funding for schools and institutions that allow males on girls and women’s sports teams.
The House passed its version of the bill last month.
Trump has already signed an executive order on the matter but EOs are subject to the whims of the White House. Standing law is more difficult to reverse.
The vote was seen as a setback for Trump’s agenda, but Senate confirmation of Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education will move the process forward, Rep. Owens, the vice chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said on Washington Watch Tuesday.
Education is a “top of mind” priority for Trump, Owens told show host Jody Hice.
“We will have the legislative body that’s going to codify those things he’s putting in place. We have an 'America First' Congress, a Senate, a President Trump, and more importantly, the American people,” he said.
McMahon called 'innovator'
Trump has stated on multiple occasions that he’d like to abolish the DOE but that move requires congressional approval.
In advance of McMahon's 51-45 confirmation vote on Monday, many within the Department of Education were offered $25,000 to leave their jobs, Politico reported Friday.
Even if the Department of Education is dismantled, as many on the left fear, its essential services, such as enforcement of civil rights laws, would be shifted elsewhere while much of the control of education would be shifted to states.
NCAAP President Derrick Johnson, in an Axios report, said McMahon’s confirmation “marks another dark day in America – not just for our government but for our kids.”
Owens could not feel more differently. Education will be enhanced, he predicted, by the business acumen of McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive.
“We have to start counting our blessings that we have innovators now running our government that understand something about return on investment," he said. "Linda McMahon is at the very center of that."
Between President Trump's vision, and McMahon's proven record of leadership and success, Burgess said, he predicts big changes coming.
DOGE keeps digging
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last month announced it had terminated 89 contracts worth $881 million within the DOE, though critics say much has been paid on the contracts already, so the savings will be less.
DOGE has also canceled 29 training grants totaling $101 million related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts.
It’s also auditing federal student loan programs for waste, fraud and abuse.
For Trump, the social unrest and antisemitism on college campuses is a big part of the education focus.
Anti-Israel protests have returned to Columbia University in New York, a flashpoint for such events in 2024. One event led to more than 100 arrests last week.
Trump made news late last month after sparring publicly with Maine Governor Janet Mills, who has defied his executive order against males in girls’ sports and public spaces.
Investigations by three separate federal departments into Maine’s transgender policies are under way.
Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, this week that cuts are coming for higher ed campuses that don’t place limits on these protests.
“All federal funding will STOP for any College, School or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!,” he wrote.
Campuses will learn to 'respect authority'
Owens predicts President Trump will keep his word.
“We’re going to see what it looks like to respect authority, to respect others’ properties, and also respect each other in terms of this divisiveness that’s been running rampant for quite a while," he said. "We’ve been lacking the type of leadership that will hold people accountable.”
Education doesn’t exist in a bubble, says Owens, himself the son of a college professor who earned a biology/chemistry degree from the University of Miami. His wife, Jose Owens, holds a doctorate in Management and Administrative Training.
Owens says education is directly linked to national security.
“I’m excited that education is at the forefront for this president. It’s the most important thing we can do," he said. "We can shut the border, we can bring down inflation, but if we do not teach our kids how to think, how to take this culture that we've been gifted, how to take it further, then we'll rot from within."
