Education Secretary Linda McMahon fields questions Thursday from members of Congress about the dismantling of her agency, student loans and other issues. Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon sparred with Democrats on the House education committee Thursday on a visit to Capitol Hill to defend the Trump administration's new budget proposal.

The lawmakers and education secretary tussled over several key education issues that will affect the lives of millions of Americans, including whether new Republican caps on federal student loans will lower the cost of college, what role the government should play in trying to improve abysmal literacy rates among U.S. students — and whether the U.S.…