McMahon Declines to Attend Warren Event, Defends Efforts to Dissolve ED
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Tuesday sent a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), in which she declined an invitation to participate in a forum focused on the Trump administration’s efforts to dissolve the Department of Education (ED), and defended the department’s reduction in force (RIF).
Earlier in May, Warren invited McMahon to participate in her forum on Wednesday, May 14, focused on how the Trump administration’s efforts will increase education costs and limit access to higher education for students and borrowers. Warren invited McMahon as a witness to the forum, which she declined to attend, along with Bonnie Latreille, the former student loan ombudsman at ED and other experts.
In her letter on Tuesday, McMahon said she declined the invitation because she “does not have faith” that the forum would “elicit a fair and productive dialogue.”
However, McMahon did offer to meet with Warren in the future. Further, McMahon indicated that she will “soon” testify before a Senate appropriations subcommittee to discuss the president’s budget request.
In her response, McMahon went on to write that Warren was “fearmongering” for voicing concerns about ED’s RIF, where nearly half of the department was laid off, and sought to refute Warren’s “baseless accusations.”
McMahon defended the RIF, writing that the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) continues to disburse funds to students and is working diligently on “unresolved issues left by the Biden administration.” She also reiterated a message from ED’s Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron, who sent a letter in March stating that no employees working on “core functions” of the FAFSA or student loan servicing were laid off because of the RIF.
“The federal student loan program was left in disarray due to the previous administration’s fixation to transferring debt to taxpayers,” McMahon wrote. “Under the Trump administration, FSA is performing efficiently, delivering on all statutory functions for the American people, and helping struggling borrowers get the help they need to get back on their feet.”
McMahon listed several data points related to FSA, including that 10 million 2025-26 FAFSAs have been submitted as of April 11. The department is also working to get the student loan portfolio on a “sustainable path,” McMahon wrote, which includes encouraging institutions to share information with student borrowers.
“Contrary to your framing that we are ‘stealing the American Dream,’ the Trump administration is empowering students and families with information and holding institutions accountable for outcomes,” McMahon wrote. “We want higher education to be a good investment for students, not a cash cow for endowed institutions.”
Warren responded to McMahon’s letter on Tuesday, saying she accepted the invitation to meet with McMahon.
“If Secretary McMahon doesn’t have the courage to face the parents, teachers, and students hurt by her actions to destroy public education, I’ll bring their questions to her,” Warren said in a statement. “I look forward to meeting with Secretary McMahon.”
Warren will host the forum, titled “Stealing the American Dream: How Trump and Republicans Are Raising Education Costs for Families,” on Wednesday, May 14, at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Stay tuned to Today’s News for more updates.
Publication Date: 5/14/2025
Brenda T | 5/14/2025 3:9:23 PM
@Jason J , students have put themselves in default, #1 its a loan that needs to be paid back, #2 far too many students borrow to fund their lifestyle not their education and then complain when it comes time to repay the loans
Armand R | 5/14/2025 11:43:07 AM
Fear-mongering is all senator Warren has. Why is it that whenever Democrats speak about making something affordable, it is always tied to spending taxpayer dollars? They never advocate for cutting costs. The cost of education could come down across the board if colleges and universities would concentrate on their mission - educating; and stop spending their resources on bloated bureaucracies, social engineering, socio-political involvement, and the like.
Elizabeth Warren represents a Marxist fringe with a loud voice. The same fringe that prevents Jewish students from moving safely around many campuses; the same fringe that cancels or disrupts conservative speakers (or any person with a different ideological belief) at campus events.
"McMahon said she declined the invitation because she 'does not have faith' that the forum would 'elicit a fair and productive dialogue'.” Wise move!
Lee Ann T | 5/14/2025 10:45:39 AM
I commend the Trump administration in all they have accomplished thus far. Including personal accountability to the millions of student loan holders that think they should have their balances just disappear.
Jason J | 5/14/2025 10:3:26 AM
“The federal student loan program was left in disarray due to the previous administration’s fixation to transferring debt to taxpayers,” McMahon wrote. “Under the Trump administration, FSA is performing efficiently, delivering on all statutory functions for the American people, and helping struggling borrowers get the help they need to get back on their feet.”
By making college more inaccessable and putting millions of students in default. Gotcha. Great job!
Korinne P | 5/14/2025 10:1:09 AM
Like Senator Warren, I care deeply about making college more affordable, and I respect her advocacy. She has been a strong voice, and as someone who has followed her work for years, I consider her a sponsor of the accountability higher education needs. That said, she does not always account for student choice when discussing graduate debt.
I have watched students borrow up to the full cost of attendance every year and then express outrage in public forums about the debt they now carry. I saw it happen at a UMass event, where the narrative did not leave much room for personal agency. We need space in this conversation to discuss institutional responsibility and borrower decision-making.
As for Secretary McMahon, the claim that the work is getting done is difficult to accept. If your first move is eliminating staff and expecting institutions to pick up the outreach burden, the structure has already failed. That is not efficiency. That is deflection.
Michelle H | 5/14/2025 9:20:26 AM
I support any elected official that wants to make a college education more affordable for students and their families. Thank you Senator Warren for hosting a forum.
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