GEOFF BENNETT: This was a big day for President Trump's team and some of his most controversial Cabinet picks.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted vaccine skeptic and critic of the pharmaceutical and food industries, was sworn in as secretary of Health and Human Services.

He now has oversight over the FDA, the CDC, Medicare and Medicaid.

He was confirmed in a tight vote with no Democratic support and a no-vote from the former Senate majority leader Republican Mitch McConnell.

The Senate confirmed Brooke Rollins overwhelmingly with a bipartisan vote to become the new secretary of agriculture.

As the top official on food supply, she is expected to deal with the impact of tariffs and a crackdown on immigration that could affect farmers.

AMNA NAWAZ: One of the president's most controversial nominations, Kash Patel to be the next FBI director, also took a big step forward after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to advance his nomination.

And Linda McMahon was pressed about President Trump's plans for the Department of Education during her confirmation hearing today.

Lisa Desjardins has our report.

MAN: Ms. McMahon, I appreciate you coming.

LISA DESJARDINS: For Linda McMahon, a Capitol Hill interview for a job the president suggested she should work herself out of.

LINDA MCMAHON, U.S. Education Secretary Nominee: The legacy of our nation's leadership in education is one that every person in this room embraces with pride.

Unfortunately, many Americans today are experiencing a system in decline.

LISA DESJARDINS: Democrats presented a united front against the nominee for secretary of education.

SEN. EDWARD MARKEY (D-MA): Will you oppose any cuts to public education, yes or no?

LINDA MCMAHON: Well, the president is not -- he is not saying that we should cut funding to public education.

SEN. EDWARD MARKEY: Yes, he is.

LINDA MCMAHON: He is simply saying -- well, I would disagree with you there.

SEN. EDWARD MARKEY: Elon Musk yesterday announced he would immediately cut $900 million from the Department of Education.

LISA DESJARDINS: McMahon said she has not talked with Musk about the agency at all.

Yesterday, the president made his position clear.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: Oh, I'd like it to be closed immediately.

Look, the Department of Education is a big con job.

LISA DESJARDINS: But, in her hearing, McMahon walked a finer line.

LINDA MCMAHON: It is not the president's goal to defund the programs.

It is only to have it operate more efficiently.

LISA DESJARDINS: Aiming to reassure senators.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): If there is a movement to abolish the Department of Education, it has to go through the United States Congress.

LINDA MCMAHON: Yes, it is set up by the United States Congress and we work with Congress.

It clearly cannot be shut down without it.

LISA DESJARDINS: But she left open that it could be dismantled.

For example, Democrats raised concern about special education funding, part of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.

SEN. MAGGIE HASSAN (D-NH): There is a reason that the Department of Education and IDEA exists, and it is because educating kids with disabilities can be really hard, and it takes the national commitment to get it done.

LISA DESJARDINS: McMahon said she could not cut that, but she could move it.

LINDA MCMAHON: I think it could very well go back to HHS, where it started.

SEN. MAGGIE HASSAN: All right, so I just want to be clear.

You're going to put special education in the hands of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. LISA DESJARDINS: This was a fundamental debate on education and government.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Is it the responsibility of the federal government to say that every kid in America, whether you're poor, middle class, rich, gets a quality education?

It is.

This was a fundamental debate on education and government.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): The department needs to get out of the way of states and local communities, who are best positioned to actually address students' needs.

LISA DESJARDINS: Republicans have advocated for school choice, more dollars for private and charter schools, and less federal involvement in education.

LINDA MCMAHON: Department of Education was set up in 1980.

And since that time, we have spent almost a trillion dollars and we have watched our performance scores continue to go down.

LISA DESJARDINS: U.S. results actually are a mixed bag, but years of increased per-pupil spending have not risen scores in proportion.

And there are still pandemic setbacks.

A recent national analysis showed that the average student is still half a grade level behind scores before COVID.

It is complex, though Republicans see a simple bottom line.

SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-AL): We're failing.

It is a disaster.

If you can't read, you can't learn.

LISA DESJARDINS: McMahon is the latest Trump nominee with an unconventional background.

VINCE MCMAHON, Chairman, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.: What a pleasant surprise, my wife.

LISA DESJARDINS: The billionaire is best known as the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE.

She and her husband have been Trump donors and friends for years.

But she is also an experienced nominee, running the Small Business Administration in his first term and serving on the Connecticut Board of Education and as a trustee at Sacred Heart University.

Democratic senators were on guard.

This was the first hearing since Trump and Elon Musk began gutting USAID and other agencies.

SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D-WA): What will you do if the president or Elon Musk tells you not to spend money Congress has appropriated to you?

LINDA MCMAHON: We will certainly expend those dollars that Congress has passed, but I do think it is worthwhile to take a look at the programs before money goes out the door.

LISA DESJARDINS: McMahon backed the administration's ban on transgender girls from competing in women's and girl's sports and his threat to pull federal funds from schools that don't comply... LINDA MCMAHON: I do not believe that biological boys should be able to compete against girls in sports.

LISA DESJARDINS: ... and Trump's executive order against diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

She was asked about whether African American history classes could be in violation.

LINDA MCMAHON: I'm not quite certain and I'd like to look into it further and get back to you on that.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I think you're going to have a lot of educators and a lot of principals and administrators scrambling right now.

LISA DESJARDINS: Despite protest and interruption, the hearing itself was among the less heated so far, though the debate over education is likely to remain boiling.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Lisa Desjardins.