By Mitch Coppes, Federal Government Affairs Manager, Goodwill Industries International
Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon have been making the rounds on Capitol Hill to pitch lawmakers on President Trump’s priorities for workforce development and education. Both Chavez-DeRemer and McMahon recently appeared before congressional committees of the House and Senate to discuss the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget, though the Administration has not yet released a detailed budget plan for federal agencies and activities. The President’s budget does propose to reduce FY26 funding for the Department of Labor by 35 percent and the Department of Education by 15 percent compared to current funding levels. It would eliminate funding for Job Corps, the Senior Community Service Employment Program and Adult Education programs. The Administration also seeks to consolidate spending on workforce training into a single block grant to states.
During a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sec. Chavez-DeRemer defended the Administration’s proposed funding cuts and its plan to consolidate federal employment and training programs. “The President’s FY 2026 Budget gives states and localities flexibility to spend workforce dollars in the way that makes the most sense for their areas,” said Chavez-DeRemer. “By consolidating siloed federal job training programs into a single Make America Skilled Again Grant, states and localities will be able to spend more time and money delivering high-quality training for their workers and less time complying with burdensome federal program requirements.” Democrats on the committee argued that this proposal would reduce federal support for workforce programs and place a greater burden on states to fund training and employment services. “The block grant is a deliberate approach that has been taken by many administrations to gradually end programs,” said Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI).
Sec. McMahon reasserted President Trump’s intention to close down the Department of Education—which would require congressional approval and is currently being litigated—and outlined the agency’s FY26 budget request in her testimony before the House Appropriations Committee. “We continue to support Pell Grants for low-income students and Career and Technical Education grants, aligning with this Administration’s vision—expressed in multiple executive orders—of postsecondary pathways that include both four-year college and non-college options, such as work-based learning and apprenticeship opportunities,” said McMahon. She also emphasized fiscal austerity in spending on education, promoting evidence-based programs and expanding education choice as priorities for her department.
Democrat lawmakers pressed Sec. McMahon on the Administration’s efforts to cancel spending previously appropriated by Congress, which has impacted programs, activities and workers across the federal government. “Congress alone holds the power of the purse,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee. “Madam Secretary, if Congress agreed with your determinations that these programs do not deserve funding, we would have decreased the funding for these accounts accordingly. We did not.”
