In January, Republicans took control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. In the U.S. House, the GOP’s education efforts will be led by Rep. Tim Walberg, the new chair of the Education and Workforce Committee. Walberg, a veteran member of Michigan’s congressional delegation, replaces Rep. Virginia Foxx, who’d led the committee’s Republicans since 2017. I was curious to hear how Walberg’s approaching his new role and what we should expect to see over the next two years. Here’s what he had to say.
—Rick

Rick: Mr. Chairman, what made you want to lead the Committee on Education and Workforce?

Walberg: Education and Workforce is the key to all that America is meant to be. I’ve long believed that education serves one main purpose: to prepare individuals for a job. I think that, over time, we have gotten away from this concept, and politicians have used our schools to push a woke agenda. I felt I was someone with the ability to help get us back on track by pushing back against efforts to indoctrinate our kids by empowering parents to have more of a say in their children’s education and bolstering nontraditional forms of higher education like trade schools and apprenticeship programs. After all, if we don’t have a well-prepared workforce, we don’t have a strong country.

Rick: Surveying the education landscape, what are the big challenges you see?

Walberg: Education has gotten away from teaching students the skill sets needed for a successful future. In many cases, students have been loaded with thousands of dollars in debt and have earned a degree that makes it impossible to pay it off. Both D.C. bureaucrats and our nation’s schools have fallen in love with the status quo of failure, but we need to work together to advance meaningful reforms that set our youth up for success. The College Cost Reduction Act (CCRA) is a piece of legislation that really breaks from what we’ve done in the past. It would save taxpayer dollars instead of throwing more federal dollars at student loans. The CCRA also would give schools a stake in their students’ success and hold them accountable if students aren’t able to pay their loans off. A Stronger Workforce for America Act is another piece of legislation that would reform one of our systems for the betterment of the individuals it serves. Through this bill, we promote more employer involvement in the nation’s workforce-development system. We also push for greater innovation and help more funds flow to training individuals to develop the skills they need for in-demand careers.

Rick: What are your priorities for this Congress?

Walberg: We must focus on educating our workforce, which means giving students skills that translate into successful careers. Our K–12 schools have continually put special interest groups over student outcomes. We need to fix the system by putting more power back in the hands of parents. Parents know the needs of their children far better than the federal government. Last Congress, the House successfully passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act, but it never came up for a vote in the Senate. We also need to look at giving more choices to families. High-quality education can come from multiple avenues, which is why I plan to prioritize strengthening school choice.

Rick: What will it take to make that happen?

Walberg: It will certainly take a lot of work, but I know our committee is full of hardworking members who are up to the task and have put forward great legislation. Previously, I’ve supported bills like the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act, the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), A Stronger Workforce for America Act, and the Parents Bill of Rights Act that are worth revisiting this Congress now that we have Republican control of the Senate and White House. Representatives Adrian Smith of Nebraska and Burgess Owens of Utah have reintroduced the ECCA for this Congress, so we are already making progress there. The Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act would help align educational opportunities with workforce needs by allowing Pell Grants to be used on short-term, skills-based postsecondary programs. This would help give families more higher education choices. And I look forward to working with Democratic Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia, the ranking member of the committee, to improve our workforce-development system to get more people into high-demand careers. We hope to see the Parents Bill of Rights Act reintroduced this Congress as well.

Rick: President Trump has called for abolishing the Department of Education. What should observers expect from the committee on that count?

Walberg: I share President Trump’s concern regarding the Department of Education. This agency has become far too powerful and has only failed our students. Despite historic levels of funding, students are performing at record lows. I’d like to see more authority returned to the states and I plan to work with the administration to achieve this. The educational needs of students vary between states, and state governments know their education systems far better than the federal government, so they are better positioned to serve students. I think many underestimate the ability of our states to manage these programs on their own.

Rick: Some Republicans have called for trimming Title I or IDEA or turning these programs into block grants. I’m curious what you think we can expect on that score?

Walberg: Cuts to Title I have been discussed in previous years because of the tens of billions in extra COVID funding schools received and concerns over how that money was spent. Given how the recent National Assessment of Educational Progress scores provided additional evidence that schools are failing our students, we have an obligation to look at all options for reform. Our goal is to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and pursue policies that will benefit students and families, and you can expect us to work toward that goal.

Rick: Last Congress, the committee passed the College Cost Reduction Act. Do you think some version of that legislation is likely to move forward this session, perhaps via reconciliation?

Walberg: For decades, Congress has responded to the student-loan crisis by increasing lending and spending. It’s clear to me that we need to take a different approach. CCRA would save taxpayer dollars while also giving universities a financial stake in their students’ future. This means that if students take out large loans for a degree that leads to a low wage, these colleges would take on some of the burden should the borrower be unable to repay their debt. The policies in CCRA continue to be a top priority of the committee, and we will be working to move it forward. This bill is estimated to cut over $185 billion in government spending, something that is also a priority for the administration. I think you can expect to see a lot of the College Cost Reduction Act utilized here, especially when it comes to student loans. But it is also very early in the process, so nothing is definitive just yet.

Rick: There’s been a lot of talk about waste, inefficiency, and bureaucracy at the Department of Education. Do you expect the committee to tackle these issues this year?

Walberg: I think everyone would agree that the federal government needs to be streamlined. We’ve already seen some wins in this area. Just recently, the Trump administration reversed a set of Biden-Harris requirements that would have mired key career and technical education programs in red tape. These requirements were something the committee voiced concern about from the beginning. I’d also like to send the department’s power back to the states as much as possible and I’m optimistic that the administration can be a partner in this.

Rick: The White House has issued some strongly worded executive orders addressing DEI and issues of gender when it comes schools and colleges. What’s your take on where things stand?

Walberg: DEI has been a problem in both the boardroom and the classroom. Instead of merit, skills, and ability, DEI devotees have pushed policies antithetical to American exceptionalism. DEI has also bloated many education budgets while, in my opinion, telling students what to think instead of how to think. We need to get back to helping our students learn and grow as individuals. The executive orders that President Trump recently signed regarding ending DEI and restoring merit-based opportunity are steps in the right direction, but the committee remains ready to assist in dismantling DEI where needed.

Rick: Last session, the committee held some enormously influential hearings on campus antisemitism. Do you anticipate a similarly aggressive posture this session?

Walberg: For the past two years, we’ve seen startling images of Jewish students being targeted on college campuses by their classmates. In some cases, students formed human barricades to prevent their classmates from attending classes all because they are Jewish. Several college administrators have resigned due to their failures to keep students safe from threats. However, we need to be sure that their replacements do not also fail to combat antisemitism and that colleges everywhere are doing what they can to protect students. We’ve also had several college administrators publicly tell the committee that they would protect their Jewish students only to continue to ignore the antisemitic activities occurring on campus. Recently, I sent a letter to Columbia University to inquire about what they were doing to follow through on their promise to punish those engaging in antisemitic behavior. Colleges and universities receive large sums of federal dollars, our committee has every right to conduct oversight, and we will continue to have a strong posture on this topic. We also know that antisemitism is a major problem in the K–12 space as well. We had one hearing on that last Congress, but we will also ramp up our oversight efforts in that space. Americans do not want their money sent to institutions that serve as breeding grounds for hatred and support for terrorism. I applaud the Trump administration for listening to the American people and holding institutions accountable when they fail to combat antisemitic, anti-American values.

Rick: Over the past few years, there were tensions between the committee and the Cardona Department of Education. What will it take to reestablish a more fruitful relationship?

Walberg: I am optimistic that under Secretary Linda McMahon, we will have a good working relationship with the Department of Education. Any tensions between the committee and former Secretary Miguel Cardona were simply because we did not agree with the previous administration blatantly and repeatedly violating the law. For example, their role in “forgiving” student loans was illegal and should’ve never been considered. They also used their position to push for political policies like redefining sex to include gender identity and social justice themes in American history that draw from critical race theory in curriculum. These are all things that should not be determined by the department, and I’m appreciative of the Trump administration for working to reverse these wrongs.

Rick: If you had the wherewithal to move legislation on one personal passion project, what would it be?

Walberg: I’d like to leave behind a good legacy on this committee, and I think finally tackling our student-loan crisis would be a great way to do so. I don’t want my grandchildren’s generation to be stuck in debt because of a deeply flawed system. Our committee has the ability to get this right.