On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced Linda McMahon, a former WWE executive, as his choice for the Secretary of the Department of Education.
If the Senate approves her nomination, McMahon will lead a department that Trump has previously indicated he wants to eliminate, proposing that states should individually manage their educational systems.
“During her time as Secretary of Education, Linda tirelessly advocated for expanding educational choices across the nation, empowering parents to make the best educational decisions for their kids,” Trump stated. He also emphasized McMahon’s dedication as “a passionate advocate for parents.”
McMahon shared Trump’s announcement on X (formerly Twitter) after participating in a launch event with Trump and Elon Musk, who is set to co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, in Texas.
CNN was the first to report McMahon’s nomination.
At the age of 76, McMahon is currently co-chairing Trump’s transition team. Previously, she held the position of head of the Small Business Administration but stepped down in 2019 to lead the pro-Trump America First Action super PAC.
Before her time in the Trump administration, McMahon served on the Connecticut State Board of Education from 2009 until her resignation in 2010 and again in 2012 after unsuccessful bids for the state Senate.
She is one of Trump’s major backers in the 2024 campaign, contributing over $20 million to the Make America Great Again super PAC and a joint fundraising committee linked to the campaign, and her total donation amounts to $937,800. She is married to Vince McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment.
The Department of Education manages a budget of approximately $241.6 billion and employs around 13,000 individuals, as noted by data from the Office of Personnel Management.
Under the Biden administration, this department approved a substantial $175 billion in student loan debt relief and aimed to enhance civil rights protections for LGBTQ students through new Title IX regulations, which some states have contested.
While campaigning, Trump pledged to revoke Title IX protections for transgender students and vowed to sign an executive order that would withdraw federal funding from “schools promoting critical race theory, transgender ideology, and other inappropriate content for children.”
In her recent op-ed for Fox News, McMahon critiqued diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. She argued that DEI initiatives are “not relevant to skilled worker training” and increase costs and administrative burdens for apprenticeship programs.
McMahon also chairs the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank she established in 2021 with other former Trump administration officials. Trump intends to nominate individuals with ties to this organization, including former Georgia Rep. Doug Collins. Lee Zeldin, a veteran affairs secretary and former New York congressman, is expected to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
McMahon is the latest addition to Trump’s cabinet selections, continuing the trend as he also nominated Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, to co-chair the transition team and as his pick for commerce secretary.
