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By Sonam Sheth
Evening Politics Editor
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Secretary of Education Linda McMahon was in the middle of giving a talk to the conservative Young America's Foundation (YAF) when she was interrupted by audio of someone calling her a "corrupt billionaire" and another clip of circus music playing in the background.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Education for comment via email on Wednesday.
Why It Matters
McMahon was arguably one of President Donald Trump's most divisive nominees. Despite being tapped to lead the Department of Education, McMahon has no previous educational experience, and her Senate confirmation process was marked by allegations from Democrats that she was unqualified for the job.
Read More on Politics
Since taking office, McMahon has rapidly worked to shut down the Department of Education, slashing its workforce by roughly half while following through with Trump's threats to withhold federal funding from states that don't adhere to the president's political agenda.
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What To Know
When McMahon's talk on Wednesday was first interrupted by a clip of someone referring to her as a "corrupt billionaire," she turned her head to the side in surprise.
"Oh," she said.
Former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, the president of YAF and the moderator of the discussion, then cut in and suggested the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had hacked the conference's audio feed.
"Apparently the CCP didn't like that," he quipped while the audience laughed. "They're cutting into our technology."
"We're getting a little feedback in here," McMahon said while laughing.
"Apparently it was a few of the liberal senators, in connection with the CCP that I think tried and cut into that," Walker added.
Reached for comment, Walker told Newsweek in a statement: "Radicals tried to stop Secretary McMahon from being heard, just like they do to conservative voices on college campuses."
Five minutes after the first interruption, while McMahon was talking about her confirmation process in the Senate, she was again cut off by audio playback that wasn't authorized by YAF.
"I'm so happy we're getting to share this feed," McMahon said, while camera shots showed young audience members looking at each other in confusion.
"Yeah, I said it's the wonders of hacking, apparently in the world of free speech," Walker said, before again attacking liberals for trying to "shut you down."
Less than five minutes later, McMahon started talking about "wokeness" in school curricula and the concept of school choice, which is championed by conservatives. When she went on to urge parents to "run for the school board, so that you can have an impact" on children's curricula, the theme from "Curb Your Enthusiasm"started playing in the background.
McMahon was again interrupted, this time by circus music, when she spoke about Trump's "working style" and noted that his daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, worked in the White House during Trump's first term.
"This time, he knew the story," McMahon said while the circus theme blared in the background. "He knew how to make things work, how to make things run. He had the people coming in that he wanted to work with him."
What People Are Saying
Walker told Newsweek in a statement: "Our students are not deterred, nor was the Secretary. We have the truth on our side!"
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