Donald Trump names WWE’s Linda McMahon as education secretary

On By Littum

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President-elect Donald Trump named his new secretary of education, choosing former Small Business Administration chief and former wrestling executive Linda McMahon for the position.

The Department of Education provides some funding to public schools, administers federal student aid programs, and collects data on American education. Trump has promised to close the department and reallocate most services to state-level officials.

“We will send education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will lead that effort,” Trump said in a statement Tuesday.

McMahon served as administrator of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2019. In 2010, she ran as the Republican candidate for the United States Senate in Connecticut, but lost to incumbent Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.

She remained a close ally of the former president as board chair of the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank founded by Trump aides in 2021 to advance his GOP priorities. McMahon has also co-led Trump’s transition team with fellow billionaire Howard Lutnick, who Trump chose to lead the Commerce Department.

Before entering Trump’s political orbit, McMahon helped found Capitol Wrestling, now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, with her husband Vince McMahon. Both spouses were named in a lawsuit filed last month accusing WWE executives of allowing “systemic and pervasive abuse” of underage children.

McMahon was one of several wry world figures who showed up at this year’s Republican National Convention in support of Trump.

“President Trump is a job creator and the best friend American workers have had in the White House,” McMahon told the RNC crowd in Milwaukee.

She was initially considered a top candidate to lead the Commerce Department when she came after Trump’s decisive victory in November. McMahon must be confirmed by the Senate.