Linda McMahon chosen by Trump to lead the Department of Education

President-elect Trump announced Tuesday night that he intends to appoint Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), to lead the Department of Education.

His announcement, posted on Truth Social, came hours after two sources told Fox News that McMahon was likely to be elected.

“It is my great honor to announce that Linda McMahon, former administrator of the Small Business Administration, will be the United States Secretary of Education,” Trump’s statement read.

“As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every state in America and empower parents to make the best education decisions for their families,” the press release added. “Linda served two years on the Connecticut Board of Education, where she was one of fifteen members overseeing all public education in the state, including its technical high school system.”

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Trump is expected to pick Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education. (Reuters)

McMahon, who served as administrator of the Small Business Administration in the first Trump administration, is the wife of Vince McMahon. The pair both co-founded WWE in 1980.

“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’s statement concluded. “We want to send education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”

McMahon served in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. When she resigned, she wrote that the role had been “immensely rewarding.”

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President Trump shakes hands with Linda McMahon, the outgoing administrator of the Small Business Administration, in Palm Beach, Fla., March 29, 2019. (Reuters/Joshua Roberts)

“While it has truly been the honor of a lifetime to serve our country in this administration, it is time for me to step down and return to the private sector,” McMahon wrote in 2019. “I want to thank the President and I will continue with being a strong advocate for him and his policies.”

Trump has previously floated the idea of ​​disbanding the Department of Education, which began operating in 1980. The agency’s website says its mission is to “advance student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by promoting educational excellence and ensuring equal access for students in all ages.”

Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told Fox News host Martha MacCallum last week that the Department of Education “doesn’t really add any value anywhere. DeVos advised that the option for Trump to radically change the department is ‘open.’

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Linda McMahon, former administrator of the Small Business Administration, speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 18. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

“Take the power away from the Department of Education, block-allocate these funds, continue to invest in education, but bring it down to a much more local level where better decisions are made on behalf of students,” DeVos said. “Those bureaucrats in the Department of Education aren’t doing the work. They haven’t done the work for more than four decades to close the achievement gaps — they’ve only gotten bigger.”

Fox News Digital’s Joshua Comins contributed to this report.