Education Secretary’s Missteps at Senate Hearing
During a Senate budget hearing on Tuesday, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon encountered several blunders.
Sen. Mark Wayne Marin (R-OK) quickly posed a question aimed at highlighting McMahon’s changes within the department: “What did you rank in reading and mathematics in 1979?”
McMahon, taken aback, initially asked, “Sorry, what?”
Marin repeated his question, clarifying, “What did we rank in mathematics and reading in 1979?”
“We were very low on totem poles,” McMahon responded, somewhat uncertain.
Marin corrected her, stating, “We were number one in 1979.” McMahon quickly replied, “Oh, 1979. Sorry. I get it,” cutting him off.
He continued, emphasizing, “In 1979 we were ranked number one. Today we rank 36th in reading and 28th in mathematics,” attempting to highlight the past failures of the Education Department.
McMahon wasn’t alone in making errors; Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) also confused her when he claimed that the government had spent $1.5 billion over 10 years on a federal grant program for disadvantaged students.
Kennedy pointed out that mathematics spending had exceeded a trillion dollars, yet McMahon offered no correction.
He remarked, “Madame Secretary, I’m not a great mathematician, but do you think you were talking about a trillion dollars?” He added, “I think 1.5 billion times is $15 billion, which is a little off the $1 trillion.”
McMahon replied, “I think the budget will cut $1.2 billion.”
Reed interjected, “Well, 1.2, that’s $12 billion, not $1 trillion.”
McMahon simply responded, “OK.”
This exchange marks another instance of miscalculations from McMahon, who made headlines previously when she incorrectly referred to artificial intelligence as “A 1” instead of AI during a meeting in April.
