Bonamici Files 3 Impeachment Articles Against Education Secretary McMahon.

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) introduced three articles of impeachment against Education Secretary Linda McMahon on June 25, 2026, accusing her of taking apart the Department of Education without the authority to do it. Sixteen House Democrats co-sponsored the resolution, Higher Ed Dive reported.

The Three Articles

The resolution lays out three charges. The first is that McMahon illegally dismantled the Department of Education, an agency Congress created and only Congress can close.

The second is that she illegally transferred the department’s duties, moving the operations of multiple offices and more than 100 programs to other federal agencies without congressional approval.

The third is that she made false and misleading statements to Congress, including during her confirmation.

What McMahon Did

The charges rest on documented actions. The department lost about half its staff to mass layoffs, and $900 million in research contracts were terminated.

The administration moved core functions out of the department and cut the Office for Civil Rights so deeply that a court later ordered some staff restored. It also withheld mental health grants and TRIO awards, which help low-income and first-generation students reach and finish college.

“Congress created the Department and it would take an Act of Congress to shut it down.”

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, June 25, 2026

Why Congress, Not the Secretary, Decides

Congress established the Department of Education by law in 1979. Closing it, or stripping it for parts, takes another act of Congress, not a cabinet secretary’s decision.

Project 2025 called for eliminating the department. The fight now is whether the executive branch can do that on its own, and the impeachment articles are an attempt to force that question onto the record.

What McMahon Says

McMahon defended the moves. “It speaks volumes that House Democrats think an impeachable offense is working to improve student outcomes and reduce the federal bureaucracy,” she said, arguing the department spent billions without matching results.

How Far the Impeachment Can Go

Impeaching a cabinet secretary is rare, and in the current House this resolution is unlikely to advance. Articles of impeachment are a charging document. Conviction and removal would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate.

The near-term value is different. The filing creates an official record of the specific actions and puts the legal question, whether a secretary can erase an agency Congress built, in front of Congress instead of leaving it unchallenged.

What You Can Do Now

Use the letter below to ask your representative to co-sponsor and vote for the articles of impeachment, and to use Congress’s oversight and spending power to reverse the transfers of programs out of the department.
Call your House member at (202) 224-3121. If they already back the resolution, thank them and ask them to push for committee hearings. If they do not, ask why a secretary should be able to close an agency Congress created.
Demand the release of the withheld TRIO and mental health grants. Parents of students with disabilities and first-generation college students are the ones losing services right now. Name those programs when you call.