Governor Albert Bryan Jr. is en route to Washington, D.C., where he is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. The meeting comes at a critical time for national education policy, as the Department of Education undergoes one of its most significant restructurings in decades. Governor Bryan is aiming to ensure that the unique educational needs of the U.S. Virgin Islands remain a priority as federal leadership charts a new course.
“This is about keeping our seat at the table,” said Government House Communications Director Richard Motta. “The Governor is determined to ensure that no matter who is in power in Washington, Virgin Islanders are not left behind.”
Governor Bryan’s meeting with Secretary McMahon is expected to focus on preserving federal support for vital education initiatives in the territory, including programs related to infrastructure investment, special education, early literacy, and school nutrition. It is also an opportunity to advocate for continued access to competitive federal grants and technical assistance, particularly as national policies increasingly shift toward decentralization.
Secretary McMahon, formerly head of the Small Business Administration and a major donor to Republican political causes, has taken the reins of the Department of Education under President Donald Trump’s second administration. Since her appointment earlier this year, she has announced plans to substantially scale back the department’s size and scope, including proposals to shift student loan management and some oversight functions to other federal agencies. Her stated objective is to reduce bureaucracy and increase local control of education systems, aligning with broader conservative efforts to curtail the federal government’s role in domestic affairs.
The proposed reforms reflect elements of Project 2025, a policy blueprint developed by conservative think tanks aligned with the Heritage Foundation. The plan advocates for dismantling what it calls the federal “administrative state” and includes provisions for eliminating the Department of Education entirely. While no such proposal has yet been formally submitted to Congress, many of McMahon’s restructuring efforts are being viewed as laying the groundwork for that eventual goal.
In the governor’s absence, Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach is serving as acting governor.
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