Rep. Bonamici Introduces Resolution of Criticism of Education Secretary McMahon

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., announced Wednesday that she will introduce a resolution of impeachment against Education Secretary Linda McMahon, accusing her of violating her oath of office, misleading Congress, and illegally dismantling the Department of Education by transferring more than 100 federal programs to other agencies without lawmakers’ approval.

The decision states that McMahon, since taking office, has approved a series of agency agreements that transfer at least five offices and related programs out of the department, moving Bonamici to say that he effectively hijacked the agency and blocked its power to manage and distribute funds allocated by Congress.

“Secretary McMahon has sold out students, families and teachers by disbanding and destroying the Department of Education, something he has no authority to do,” said Bonamici in a statement. “Congress created the Department and it will take an act of Congress to close it.”

Bonamici framed the issue as constitutional, saying the secretary cannot overturn an agency Congress created by law. He emphasized that almost 90 percent of American students attend public schools and pointed to federal protections that ensure equal access and free and appropriate education for students with disabilities. “I will not stand by and allow Sec. McMahon to destroy government programs, funding, and research that is vital to public schools and the millions of students they serve,” she said.

Education has long been the backbone of Bonamici’s work. The congresswoman, who represents Oregon’s 1st Congressional District, is the Ranking Member of the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Subcommittee and is the leader of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. He played a leading role in passing the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced No Child Left Behind, and has been a longtime advocate for equity in education funding and policy.

According to this decision, the transfer includes several landmark laws on education and human rights. Beginning in May 2025, Bonamici’s office says, McMahon moved career and technical education programs under the Carl D. Perkins Act into the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Department. In September 2025, additional resources under the Primary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act were transferred to the Ministry of Labour. Additional agreements in February 2026 transferred programs to the Administration for Children and Family at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Bureau of the Department of Education and Cultural Affairs.

The most recent and, in Bonamici’s telling, the most important changes came on June 16, when McMahon reportedly approved agreements to move programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act to HHS, as well as to transfer enforcement of civil rights protections – including under the Civil Rights Act, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Department of Justice’s Discrimination Act.

Bonamici says the transfer was made without the consent of Congress, which has spending and oversight powers under Article I of the Constitution, and that it undermines the department’s legal obligations.

The impeachment of a Cabinet secretary is extremely rare and uphill. The resolution would need to pass the House by a simple majority, after which the Senate would hold a hearing that requires a two-thirds vote to convict and remove the officer from office. No Secretary of Education has ever been charged.

So far, the Ministry of Education has not responded.