Trump Taps Linda McMahon To Lead Education Department

Politics

President-elect Donald Trump named Linda McMahon as his pick for education secretary, which would install another wealthy backer and confidant to his Cabinet.

“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,” Trump said in a statement Tuesday. “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.”

“We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”

McMahon, who founded World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) alongside her husband, Vince, is the co-chair of Trump’s transition team and chairs the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump think tank.

She led the Small Business Administration for two years during Trump’s first term before stepping down in 2019 to help run his reelection effort.

Trump has pledged to close the Department of Education and return authority over K-12 education to states and localities. The agency provides only about 10% of funding to schools across the nation, but that support helps schools in low-income districts and is often used to pay for such programs as special education. The agency spends the bulk of its budget on the federal student aid program.

Closing the department would require an act of Congress and a supermajority of senators under current filibuster rules, a high bar.

Linda McMahon led the Small Business Administration for two years during Trump’s first term before stepping down in 2019 to help run his reelection effort.

The McMahons are longtime friends of the president-elect and personally donated millions to his first bid for the White House in 2016. Vince McMahon resigned from WWE in January shortly after a former employe filed a federal lawsuit accusing him and another executive of sexual misconduct. He has denied the allegations.

Linda McMahon was reportedly in the running to head up the Department of Commerce, but Trump chose Wall Street executive Howard Lutnik. Lutnik, another billionaire, has been co-leading Trump’s transition team alongside McMahon.

Democracy In The Balance

Don’t let this be the end of the free press. The free press is under attack — and America’s future hangs in the balance. As other newsrooms bow to political pressure, HuffPost is not backing down.

Would you help us keep our news free for all? We can’t do it without you.

Can’t afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You’ve supported HuffPost before, and we’ll be honest — we could use your help again. We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can’t do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Lutnik was a major donor to Trump’s 2024 election effort and was responsible for more than $75 million in fundraising, according to The New York Times.

McMahon and her husband were recently named in a new lawsuit accusing WWE of enabling the sexual abuse of young boys by an employee in the 1980s. The suit claims the McMahons allowed a former ringside announcer to abuse five former “ring boys,” alleging the couple were privy to the “WWE’s rampant culture of sexual abuse.”