donald-trump education devos mcmahon vouchers department-of-education for-profit-colleges title-ix student-loans pell-grants class-analysis follow-the-money
related: _Donald Trump Master Profile
donors: DeVos Family, American Federation for Children
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The DeVos to McMahon Pipeline. Public Schools as Private Profit
Money
Donald Trump appointed two Education Secretaries across both terms. Both served the same function. Betsy DeVos came from a family that had donated $200 million since the 1970s to advance school privatization. She proposed $5 billion annually in federal tax credits for private school scholarships and $50 billion in vouchers over ten years. Congress rejected both. She repealed the gainful employment rule that held for profit colleges accountable, costing taxpayers an estimated $6.2 billion over ten years in federal aid flowing to failing programs. She weakened the borrower defense rule that let defrauded students get debt relief. She had financial stakes in Performant Financial (student loan debt collection) and Laureate Education (for profit college operator). Linda McMahon was confirmed 51 to 45 on March 3, 2025. She announced $60 million more for charter schools, raising the program to a historic $500 million. She redirected $25 billion in annual education grants toward school choice and AI. She described dismantling the Department of Education as its “final mission.” Half the department’s 4,100 employees have left or been fired. $7 billion in K 12 grants withheld. $890 million for English learner programs frozen. The donors who funded school privatization got their secretaries. The secretaries delivered the policy. The children in underfunded public schools got the bill.
Temporal Mapping. Education Under Trump
| Date | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| February 7, 2017 | Betsy DeVos confirmed 51 to 50 | Vice President Pence cast tie breaking vote. Most contested cabinet confirmation in modern history |
| February 22, 2017 | Transgender student guidance rescinded | Joint letter with AG Sessions. Reversed Obama era Title IX interpretation |
| June 2017 | Borrower defense rule blocked | DeVos delayed Obama rule scheduled for July 1, 2017 |
| 2017 to 2020 | ACA navigator funding model applied to education | Proposed 13.6% cut to federal public education with $1.4 billion for voucher expansion |
| April 2019 | ACICS accreditation restored | For profit college accreditor reinstated. 800,000 students affected |
| June 2019 | Gainful employment rule repealed | For profit colleges no longer required to prove graduates got good jobs. $6.2 billion cost over decade |
| August 14, 2020 | Title IX sexual assault regulations finalized | Required live hearings with cross examination of accusers |
| August 30, 2019 | Final borrower defense rule issued | Made it harder for defrauded students to get debt relief |
| March 3, 2025 | Linda McMahon confirmed 51 to 45 | Former SBA Administrator and America First Policy Institute chair |
| March 4, 2025 | McMahon describes department dismantling as “final mission” | |
| March 7, 2025 | PSLF restrictions executive order | Can deny loan forgiveness to workers whose employers “aid illegal immigration” |
| March 20, 2025 | Trump executive order to abolish Department of Education | Cannot fully eliminate without Congress |
| May 2025 | Charter school funding raised to $500 million | $60 million increase. $263 million to 22 new grantees over 5 years |
| 2025 | $25 billion in education grants redirected | Prioritizes K 3 reading, AI, charter/private schools, alternative pathways |
| 2025 | Half of 4,100 department employees gone | Approximately 2,050 left or fired |
| 2025 | $7 billion in K 12 grants withheld | Plus $890 million for English learners, $375 million for migrant farmworker children |
| 2025 budget | $12 billion cut from Department of Education | 15% overall reduction |
| 2025 budget | Pell Grant maximum cut proposed | $1,685 reduction to $5,710 from approximately $7,400 |
| February 5, 2025 | ”Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order | Bans transgender women athletes at all ages. Ties Title IX enforcement to compliance |
| April 2025 | USDA freezes school meal funding to Maine | Retaliation for permissive transgender athletics policy |
The DeVos Conflict Empire
Betsy DeVos was not simply an advocate for school choice. She was a direct financial beneficiary of the policies she implemented.
| Investment | Connection | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Performant Financial Corporation | Student loan debt collection contractor | DeVos held financial stake. Company profits from student loan defaults |
| Laureate Education | For profit college operator. Owns Walden University | Largest recipient of federal graduate student loans. DeVos held interest through amended loan agreement |
| American Federation for Children | School privatization advocacy. DeVos family funded, Betsy served as chair | Received $2.5M+ from DeVos family. Spent $9M annually on school choice advocacy |
| LMF WF Portfolio | Helped finance $147 million loan to Performant Financial | Financial chain connecting DeVos to loan servicing profits |
The DeVos family fortune is estimated at $5.2 billion. Betsy DeVos reported 2018 income of at least $33 million from assets valued between $200 million and $600 million. The family donated at least $200 million since the 1970s to advance school privatization. The American Federation for Children targeted 69 state legislature incumbents and ousted 40 of them.
Analytical Pattern. Two Audience Problem
For parents the story was “school choice means your child can attend a better school.” For the donors the story was the $800 billion annual public education market being opened to private operators. The DeVos family spent $200 million not because they cared about individual children’s school assignments but because voucher programs redirect public tax revenue to private schools, religious schools, and for profit education companies. The parent gets a voucher. The company gets a revenue stream extracted from public education funding. Two audiences. Two stories. One direction of money flow.
The For Profit College Protection Racket
Gainful employment repeal. The Obama era rule required for profit colleges to prove their graduates could get jobs that justified the cost of their education. Programs that failed were cut off from federal financial aid. DeVos repealed it in June 2019. The estimated cost. $6.2 billion over ten years in federal aid flowing to programs that do not lead to employment.
Borrower defense weakening. The borrower defense rule allowed students defrauded by their colleges to get federal loan forgiveness. DeVos’s August 2019 final rule made it significantly harder to qualify. 23 state attorneys general challenged the rule.
ACICS restoration. The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools had its recognition stripped under Obama after accrediting schools that defrauded students (Corinthian Colleges, ITT Tech). DeVos restored ACICS in April 2019, putting 800,000 students back under the oversight of the accreditor that had approved the most notorious for profit fraud operations in the country.
The pattern is consistent. Every regulatory change that protected students from predatory for profit schools was reversed. Every change benefited the for profit education industry and its investors.
The McMahon Phase. Dismantling as Mission
Linda McMahon served as Trump’s SBA Administrator from 2017 to 2019 and then chaired the America First Policy Institute, the MAGA think tank that drafted much of the second term policy agenda. She was confirmed 51 to 45 on March 3, 2025.
Staffing. Half the department’s 4,100 workforce has been fired or left. The Department of Education cannot fulfill its core functions with half its staff.
Grant freezes. $7 billion in K 12 education grants withheld. $890 million for English learner programs frozen. $375 million for migrant farmworker children support frozen. These are not abstract budget figures. They are teachers not hired. Programs not run. Children not served.
Budget cuts. $12 billion total cut proposed. $49 million (35% of entire budget) cut from the Office for Civil Rights. $300 million cut from college preparation funding. $35 million from civics education. $26 million from racial integration programs. $15 million from special education training. The cuts target the programs that serve the most vulnerable students.
Pell Grant reduction. Proposed $1,685 cut to the maximum Pell Grant, reducing it from approximately $7,400 to $5,710. Federal Work Study slashed by $980 million. TRIO programs proposed for complete elimination.
Money
The dismantling of the Department of Education is not about reducing government waste. It is about redirecting $25 billion in annual education grants from public schools to private operators. Charter school funding at a historic $500 million. Education Savings Accounts expanded. Home school support increased. Every dollar redirected to school choice is a dollar removed from the public education system that serves 50 million children. The donors who spent $200 million on school privatization are getting the policy they purchased. The 55% of Americans who oppose eliminating the Department of Education were not consulted.
Title IX. Culture War as Policy Vehicle
First term. February 22, 2017. DeVos and AG Sessions rescinded Obama era guidance allowing transgender students to use facilities matching their gender identity. August 14, 2020. DeVos finalized Title IX sexual assault regulations requiring live hearings with cross examination of accusers. Survivors’ advocates said the rules forced victims to face their attackers.
Second term. February 5, 2025. Executive Order 14201 “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” banned transgender women athletes at all ages from women’s teams. Defined sex as “immutable biological classification as either male or female.” Directed the Secretary of Education to enforce Title IX against institutions with transgender inclusive policies. Threatened to rescind funding from noncompliant schools.
April 2025. USDA froze school meal funding to Maine for having a permissive transgender athletics policy. The federal government used children’s food as leverage to enforce transgender athlete bans.
Contradiction
The administration that proposed eliminating the Department of Education simultaneously expanded its enforcement power to police transgender athletes in every school in the country. The department is too bloated to fund public schools but essential enough to investigate which children play which sports. The contradiction resolves when you understand the department is not being eliminated. It is being repurposed. From an agency that funds education to an agency that enforces culture war compliance.
Sources
- NPR. Linda McMahon Confirmed as Education Secretary (March 3, 2025) (Tier 2)
- Inside Higher Ed. McMahon Confirms Plans to Dismantle Department of Education (February 13, 2025) (Tier 2)
- EdWeek. Trump Slashed Billions for Education in 2025 (January 2026) (Tier 2)
- NPR. Trump Admin Withholding Over $6 Billion in Education Grants (July 1, 2025) (Tier 2)
- Center for American Progress. Inside the Financial Holdings of Billionaire Betsy DeVos (Tier 2)
- NBC News. Betsy DeVos Put Millions Behind School Choice Candidates (Tier 2)
- Higher Ed Dive. Betsy DeVos Formally Revokes Gainful Employment Rule (June 2019) (Tier 2)
- The White House. Executive Order 14201. Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports (February 5, 2025) (Tier 1)
research-status:: DeVos confirmation and financial holdings from CAP and NPR. McMahon actions from Inside Higher Ed and EdWeek. Budget cuts from EdWeek and NPR. For profit college deregulation from Higher Ed Dive. Title IX from White House executive orders. DeVos family donation history from NBC. Pell Grant and TRIO data from NASFAA. School meal retaliation from USDA reporting.