During her congressional hearing this week, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, who is in the strange position of leading a department that her boss, President Trump, wants to eliminate, was grilled by U.S. Congresswoman Summer Lee (D-PA) about what is “illegal DEI” teaching according to the Trump administration.
[Background: During his first week back in office, Trump rescinded the Executive Orders that guided the Department’s Diversity & Inclusion Council and “issued a new Executive Order, ‘Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,‘ that terminates groups like the Diversity & Inclusion Council.”
First on his list of recissions was an order “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.” Trump also “identified for removal of over 200 web pages from the Department’s website that housed DEI resources and encouraged schools and institutions of higher education to promote or endorse harmful ideological programs.”]
The administration’s actions created a firestorm among educators who were unsure of what they were legally able to teach, and facing potential legal consequences for violating the order. But what constituted a “harmful ideological program” — was it teaching that slavery existed in the United States and that the Civil War was fought largely because of it? Did the mere mention of historically accurate examples of racial discrimination — such as school segregation — constitute a violation of the law?
Rep. Lee, seeking to clear up these grey areas with Sec. McMahon, asked the Education chief about teaching African American studies, specifically noting AP African American Studies — a class which saw its examination content altered as a result of the DEI purge.
Following up on a question McMahon was asked by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) during her confirmation hearing, Lee asked whether teaching African American studies constitutes “illegal DEI”? (To Murphy’s question, McMahon had said she wasn’t familiar enough with the breadth of Trump’s orders to respond.)
Shocking exchange between @RepSummerLee and Secretary of Education @EDSecMcMahon just now:
— The Debt Collective 🟥 (@StrikeDebt) June 4, 2025
It appears McMahon has never heard of Ruby Bridges—the first Black child to desegregate white schools while defying a mob of adults—or the Tulsa Race Massacre.pic.twitter.com/xEtEhq52vB
Answering Lee, McMahon allowed that a class in “African history” did not violate the administration’s position on DEI if it was taught “as part of the total history package.” McMahon mentioned Middle East studies and Chinese studies in response to Lee’s African American history question, saying that if you are “giving the facts on both sides, of course it’s not DEI.”
Lee replied that she didn’t know “what both sides of African American history” would be, pressing the Secretary to acknowledge that all of history could not be taught at once and that breaking it into units was the only practical solution for an educator.
McMahon, who demurred when asked specifically about teaching courses containing accounts of the Tulsa Race Massacre or a book about the groundbreaking desegregation pioneer Ruby Bridges, did conclude unambiguously: “I think that African history can certainly be taught and not be considered a DEI course.”
On the matter of teaching that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, McMahon was less clear.
Lee: How about social studies standards that teach that President Biden won the 2020 election?
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 4, 2025
McMahon: I think are studies should all the taught accurately
Lee: Yes or no.
McMahon: I think I have said we should teach accurately
Lee: You have not answered the question pic.twitter.com/5lCmVc3xRG
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