Chicago Public Schools CEO Dr. Macquline King grilled by GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill

Republican lawmakers grilled the Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Dr. Macquline King on Wednesday.

The hearing has been a couple of months in the making, starting with an invitation for King to appear before the U.S. House Committee on Education & the Workforce. King respectfully declined the offer to testify, multiple times.

Members of the committee got tired of the rejections. Now through a subpoena, the committee legally forced King to appear in front of its members for a hearing titled, "Breaking Trust: Attacks on Parental Rights, Inappropriate Content, and Legal Abuses in America's Schools."

In a letter accompanying the subpoena to King, members of the committee explained their intentions were to understand CPS' legal compliance to "help the Committee to determine whether and, if so, what further changes in law may be needed to ensure children are protected and federal funds are spent responsibly."

House Republicans in particular are investigating districts that support transgender students, as well as minority programs.

At the hearing, King had five interrupted minutes to introduce herself to the committee and explain CPS' commitment to diversity. Then the back-and-forth began.

In the very first question in the hearing, committee chairman U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Michigan), asked King, "Do you, in the Chicago Public School system, believe that teachers need to renounce their faith principles in order to teach in the school?"

King replied, "I actually started my teaching career in a Christian school, and although..."

Walberg continued, interrupting: "It ought to be an easy answer then. What's your answer? Do Christian teachers need to renounce their faith in order to teach in Chicago public schools?"

"No they do not," King said.

The Chicago Teachers Union anticipated ahead of time that the hearing might get feisty. They boarded a bus on Tuesday to make sure they were in place to support King and district policies on racial equity and LGBTQ+ protections.

The U.S. Department of Education began investigating allegations of CPS discrimination in April 2025 over the district's Black Student Success Plan. The Black Student Success Plan aims to double the number of Black male educators, reduce disciplinary action against Black students, and add more lessons about Black history and culture.

The Trump administration already pulled funding from CPS because of that initiative, and supporters worry money could be cut from other programs too.

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina) first made reference to what he said was a form of abortion in which "the baby [is] dismembered, and part by part, removing the arms, legs, head and body." Then he asked King, "Which form of abortion do you think would be the most preferable?"

"I'm very disturbed by that question, and I want to say that Chicago Public Schools sexual education curriculum is in compliance with Illinois state law," replied King.

Before questioning began, Walberg — who noted that he was a product of the school system in Cook County, but "thankfully not" of the Chicago Public Schools — criticized what he outlined as CPS' policies on teaching gender identity and transgender issues.

King was also questioned for allowing students to attend May Day events. The Chicago Teachers Union and CPS agreed this year to use May Day for a "day of civic action" for students and teachers, and some CPS student joined a rally for workers during the school day on May 1.

Ahead of the hearing, the CTU called its premise "an attack on Chicago values."

"Equity is often misunderstood," Chicago Teachers Union member Chanise Stephens said Tuesday. "Equity is not about giving everyone the same as others or more than others. It's about recognizing that different students face different barriers, and ensuring barriers do not determine their future."

U.S Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Illinois) also condemned the hearing Wednesday morning.

"Instead of debating how much more funding they're going to put into our public schools, instead of having a healthy conversation about how to make sure that our students have every single resource they need to thrive, you know what they're doing? They're coming for school districts that prioritize the well-being of and care for diverse children," Ramirez said.

CBS News Chicago spoke with Edwin Yohnka, director of communications and public policy of the Illinois American Civil Liberties Union, about the federal government's focus on schools — especially in Democratic-led cities.

 "This is, again, you know, the city of Chicago schools were not called into this hearing because there's some identifiable problem that Congress intends to fix. They called them in because the City of Chicago public schools have policies that these legislators don't agree with," Yohnka said. "And their view is, is that if you don't agree with them 100%, then you must be wrong. And they're not going to help solve anything, they're just going to compel people to agree with them.

Chicago's programs and policies were not the only ones questioned on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning. The CEO of the San Francisco Unified School District, as well as the head of the district in Ashburn, Virginia, were also each in the hot seat.