Secretary of Education Linda McMahon didn’t just show up to a House Appropriations hearing—she made it count. When Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) asked if she could define what a woman is, McMahon didn’t hesitate. “Me,” she said. “I was born a girl and I grew to be an adult woman.”
That single word response drew praise from conservatives and stood in stark contrast to the dodging and deflecting of former Biden administration education officials. Clyde made the comparison crystal clear, noting how President Biden’s Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, “repeatedly refused to define what a woman was, dodging my question three separate times” during a budget hearing last year.
McMahon’s clarity wasn’t just symbolic—it was part of a much broader return to biological reality and educational sanity. The exchange highlighted the radical shift away from gender ideology at the Department of Education under President Trump. Clyde slammed the Biden-Harris administration for its 2024 rewrite of Title IX to include “gender identity,” which opened the door for male athletes to compete against women and forced girls to share bathrooms and locker rooms with biological males.
“They have no interest in protecting girls or women,” Clyde said. “After all, if you cannot define a woman, you cannot defend a woman.”
McMahon’s leadership has marked a deliberate reversal of those policies. Under her tenure, the Department has focused on protecting female athletes and restoring Title IX to its original intent: ensuring women’s rights, not dismantling them. She has already launched multiple investigations into states, including Maine, where Governor Janet Mills is under federal scrutiny for civil rights violations tied to transgender sports participation.
In a recent CNN interview, McMahon doubled down on her position. She calmly explained to host Kasie Hunt why forcing girls to compete against boys isn’t just unfair—it’s dangerous. “It’s not just about scholarships,” McMahon said. “It’s about safety. It’s about dignity.” Hunt was visibly rattled as McMahon explained the basic biology and fairness principles behind the new policies. At one point, McMahon reportedly had to “reduce her explanation down to smaller words” to get the message across.
And it’s not just about Title IX. Clyde also commended the Department for finally shifting control back to the states. “For decades, the Department of Education has grown far beyond its original intent,” he said. “Imposing mandates, funding ideological programs, and entangling schools in red tape.” Meanwhile, student performance has declined and costs have exploded.
McMahon and the Trump administration are cutting through that bureaucracy, refocusing the Department on actual education instead of progressive activism. As part of that effort, President Trump signed an executive order banning biological men from participating in women’s sports—a direct rejection of Biden’s legacy of gender confusion in schools.
The message is simple: this administration isn’t afraid to speak the truth. Whether it’s defining basic terms or defending the rights of girls in locker rooms, they’re setting a new standard—and it starts with common sense.
With Secretary McMahon leading the charge, the Department of Education is once again grounded in reality. And for parents across America, that’s not just refreshing—it’s long overdue.
