May 07, 2025

Warren Announces Senate Forum on Trump’s Attacks on Education Access, Invites Secretary McMahon to Defend Actions

Spotlight forum entitled “Stealing the American Dream: How Trump and Republicans Are Raising Education Costs for Families.”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, announced that she will host a spotlight forum entitled “Stealing the American Dream: How Trump and Republicans Are Raising Education Costs for Families.” The forum is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Room G11.

The latest action in Senator Warren’s Save Our Schools campaign, this forum will examine how both the Trump administration’s attacks on the Department of Education and Congressional Republicans’ legislative plans will increase education costs and limit access to higher education for America’s students and borrowers.

Senator Warren invited the following witnesses to attend the forum:

  • Linda McMahon, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education
  • Bonnie Latreille, Former Student Loan Ombudsman, U.S. Department of Education
  • Jonathan Glater, Professor of Law & Associate Dean of J.D. Curriculum and Teaching, UC Berkeley School of Law
  • Gilberto Gonzalez, Truck Driver, Prime Inc. 
  • Tiffany Aliche, Personal Finance Creator, @thebudgetnista

In a letter to Secretary McMahon, Senator Warren wrote, “Your appearance will provide you with an opportunity to defend the Trump administration’s policies, offer context for your actions to dismantle the Department of Education, and share your vision for ensuring that the American Dream becomes more attainable for all.”

This forum follows President Trump’s signing of a March 2025 executive order seeking to abolish the Department of Education, and House Republicans advancing legislation last month to slash $351 billion in education spending. 

Senator Warren has been a leader in the coordinated effort to fight back against President Trump’s attempts to abolish the Department of Education:

  • On April 24, 2025, Senator Warren launched a new investigation into the harms of President Trump’s attacks on the Department of Education, seeking information on the impact of the Trump administration’s actions from the members of twelve leading organizations representing schools, parents, teachers, students, borrowers, and researchers.
  • On April 10, 2025, following a request led by Senator Warren, the Department of Education’s Acting Inspector General agreed to open an investigation into the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the Department of Education.
  • On April 2, 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Mazie Hirono, along with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, sent a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon regarding the Department of Government Efficiency’s proposed plan to replace the Department of Education’s federal student aid call centers with generative artificial intelligence chatbots.
  • On April 2, 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren launched the Save Our Schools campaign to fight back against the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education (ED) and highlight the consequences for every student and public school in America.
  • On March 27, 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led a letter to Acting Department of Education Inspector General (IG) René Rocque requesting that the IG conduct an investigation of the Trump Administration’s attempts to dismantle the Department of Education.
  • On March 20, 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders led a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon regarding the Trump Administration’s decision to slash the capacity of Federal Student Aid to handle student aid complaints.
  • On February 24, 2025, in a response to Senator Warren, Secretary McMahon gave her first public admission that she “wholeheartedly” agreed with Trump’s plans to abolish the Department of Education.
  • On February 11, 2025, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim sent Linda McMahon, Secretary-Designate for the U.S. Department of Education, a 12-page letter with 65 questions on McMahon's policy views in advance of her nomination hearing.

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