Trump to nominate pro wrestling mogul Linda McMahon for education secretary

On By Littum

Fatima Hussein, Amanda Seitz, Collin Binkley and Josh Boak
| Associated Press

Washington – President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Department of Education, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump has vowed to dismantle.

McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s inaugural term from 2017 to 2019 and ran twice unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut.

McMahon served on the Connecticut Board of Education for one year beginning in 2009 and has spent years on the board of Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. She is seen as a relative unknown in education circles, although she has expressed support for charter schools and school choice.

“Linda will use her decades of leadership experience and deep understanding of both education and business to empower the next generation of American students and workers and make America number one in education in the world,” Trump said in a statement.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump chose Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former television talk show host and heart surgeon, to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Trump also named Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department.

By nominating McMahon, Trump is rewarding a loyal supporter of his movement who, along with Lutnick, has also helped lead his transition team. She was with him on Tuesday when he attended a launch of SpaceX’s Starship vehicle in Texas.

After his time in the Trump administration, McMahon became chairman of the board of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank created by Trump supporters and former officials who have been preparing for his return to government. McMahon has also chaired the pro-Trump America First Action SuperPAC.

She is married to Vince McMahon, who stepped down as World Wrestling Entertainment CEO in 2022 amid a corporate investigation into allegations that he was involved in sexual abuse and human trafficking. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of TKO Group Holdings in January, although he has denied the allegations.

Trump and other Republicans have vilified Democratic efforts to ease student loan debt in recent years. The Biden administration has faced repeated legal challenges to efforts to cancel student loans for millions of Americans, with the Supreme Court striking down his first attempt. Republican lawmakers say the idea is unfair to those who didn’t go to college or have already repaid loans.

If confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, Linda McMahon will be asked to bring the nation’s schools and universities in line with Trump’s vision for education. Trump has made sweeping promises centered on eliminating what he sees as “left-wing indoctrination” in American schools.

Trump has promised to cut federal money to “any school that pushes Critical Race Theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.” He has vowed to fight universities’ diversity initiatives, saying he will open civil rights investigations and fine colleges “up to the full amount of their endowments.”