Policy Forum 

# Ending the US Department of Education as It Turns 45: A Fireside Chat with Secretary Linda McMahon 

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Date and Time 

May 14, 2025 5:30 - 6:15 PM EDT 

Location 

Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 

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##### Featuring 

![Linda McMahon portrait](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-04/linda-mcmahon-circle.jpeg?itok=8US7wyz3) 

Linda McMahon 

Secretary, US Department of Education

[![Emily Ekins](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Emily%20Ekins.jpg?itok=O6P9UmCC)](/people/emily-ekins) 

[Emily Ekins](/people/emily-ekins)

Vice President for Policy and Society, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/emilyekins) 

[![Neal McCluskey Cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-11/mccluskey-cropped.jpg?itok=I-QI0yJD)](/people/neal-mccluskey) 

[Neal McCluskey](/people/neal-mccluskey)

Former Director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute

**This event has been rescheduled to May 14th.**

US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has been given an unusual mandate: to end the department she has been tasked with overseeing. As out of the ordinary as that might be, it is the right mission, because the Constitution gives the federal government no authority to govern in education, and the department’s practical track record has been terrible.

Join us for a very special fireside chat—shortly after the department celebrated its 45th birthday, on May 4th—where we will discuss why the department needs to go, how that can be done, the steps taken so far, and what American education would look like without a federal Department of Education.

**Reception to follow.**

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