Mark Harris Asks Education Secretary Linda McMahon: 'Is Education Mentioned In Our Constitution?'

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During a House Education Committee hearing last week, Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) questioned Education Secretary Linda McMahon on states' authority over education.

Transcript

00:00Carolina, Mr. Harris. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Madam Secretary,

00:05for being here and for your patience and endurance throughout this hearing.

00:11There's been a lot said about the closing of the Department of Education and the activities that

00:17are being ensued. But, Madam Secretary, I want to ask you, is education mentioned in our Constitution?

00:25I don't believe it is in terms of directives or agencies mentioned in the Constitution.

00:34Correct. Our Tenth Amendment says that the powers not delegated to the federal government by the

00:39Constitution are reserved to who, exactly? The states. The states and the people. And my wife

00:46teaches eighth grade U.S. history, and I think even her eighth graders can piece together that if it's

00:52not mentioned in the Constitution, it must fall to the states and to the people. Sadly, some of

00:59our federal judges need to go back to the eighth grade and have that kind of class. Let me ask you

01:04this. Do you think a single district judge should be able to stop the constitutional actions of a

01:10president? Well, I certainly think that is a question now that is before the courts and is being,

01:18I think it will be properly adjudicated. Well, unfortunately, that's exactly what happened.

01:24Judge Juan in Boston issued a preliminary injunction to stop several of President Trump's education-related

01:31executive orders, including the one directing you to take steps to close the department. So I want to

01:37take a moment just to set the record straight for the nation and ask you, did President Trump's executive

01:43order in March about closing the department ever tell you to ignore the law? No. In fact,

01:51it says specifically in the executive order to do it lawfully. Exactly. It very clearly says,

01:58let me just quote it for the record. The secretary of education shall to the maximum extent appropriate

02:04and permitted by law take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the department of education

02:11and return authority over education to the states and local communities while ensuring the effective

02:17and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely. It seems that

02:25Congress is the one out of line with the Constitution in establishing a department of education in the

02:31first place. And I, for one, happen to agree 100 percent with you and President Trump that we must send

02:38education back to our states. But that process doesn't mean ignoring the laws on the books. So what steps

02:46have you taken to follow the Constitution and carry out President Trump's lawful order to move the

02:53Department of Education toward closure? Well, what I've said from the beginning, in fact, in my confirmation

02:59hearing, when I was asked specifically, I said I would like to work with Congress as we look at the plans for

03:05shutting down the Department of Education and which of those agencies can carry out the the obligations

03:13that are currently now funneling through the Department of Education. So it was always my goal

03:18and will continue to be my goal as I know it will take congressional action to close the Department of

03:23Education to work with Congress to do that. So are there any specific needs from Congress that you have

03:30that you would ask us to help in accomplishing your task? I think they will come as we want to sit down as

03:37as we lay out more the plan and the timeline, you know, for what where we think different agencies could

03:44accommodate the role right now of the Department of Education. Okay. On another subject, Madam Secretary,

03:52do you agree that it is a privilege for foreign students to attend American universities and not a right?

03:59I do think it is a privilege. And do you agree that it's a privilege for universities to enroll foreign

04:05students, not a right? I think the right, the education here in our country, I mean, I think it is a

04:12privilege for those foreign students to come and attend our universities. And do you agree that the

04:17safety of American students should be a top priority, especially when considering who to let on campus?

04:24Yes, I do. Well, recently, the Department of State announced a temporary pause in interviews for

04:30student visas with plans to update the policies on screening, even social media for applicants. And

04:36this comes after we've seen just the incredible rise in the violent and anti-Semitic protest on college

04:42campuses across the nation. And I want to ask you in just a closing seconds, has your department noticed a

04:47connection between schools that fail to follow the law and report foreign donations and the prevalence

04:54of anti-Semitism on campuses? Well, one of the things that we've asked, in fact, this is exactly one of

05:00the issues that came up with Harvard. So we are looking at all universities now and investigating to make

05:06sure that under that section 117, they are, as they are required, reporting the amounts and sources of

05:12those contributions, those donations to the universities. Excellent. Well, thank you so much

05:17again for the work that you're doing. And Mr. Chairman, with that, I yield back my time. I thank, I thank

05:21the gentleman.

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