Linda McMahon, a longtime CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment who worked under the first Trump administration, was appointed by President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday to head the Education Department.
McMahon would be in charge of a department that Trump claimed he intended to eliminate as it presently stands and let each state manage education on its own, if the Senate confirms her.
In a statement, Trump characterized McMahon as a strong supporter of parents’ rights and stated, “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.”
On X, McMahon repeated Trump’s announcement that his campaign had shared. She attended the SpaceX Starship launch in Texas earlier in the day along with Trump and Elon Musk, who was announced as the co-chair of a new Department of Government Efficiency.
McMahon’s appointment as Trump’s choice for education secretary was first reported by CNN.
Co-chairing Trump’s presidential transition team is McMahon, 76. During his first term, she oversaw the Small Business Administration. In 2019, she left her Cabinet-level position to become the president of the pro-Trump America First Action super PAC.
McMahon was on the Connecticut State Board of Education in 2009 before to joining the first Trump administration. She left the board to run unsuccessfully for the state’s U.S. Senate seats in 2010 and 2012.
During the 2024 campaign, McMahon was one of Trump’s biggest funders, giving his campaign and allied joint fundraising committees $937,800 and more than $20 million to the Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC. She is wed to Vince McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment.
Based on figures from the Office of Personnel Management, the Education Department employs over 13,000 people and has a $241.6 billion budget.
The Education Department has authorized the cancellation of $175 billion in student loan debt during the Biden administration. With a new Title IX rule that expands the scope of sex-based harassment in schools, the administration has also attempted to increase the civil rights protections for LGBTQ students. A number of states have banned the rule after contesting it.
Trump declared during the campaign that he would repeal the rights afforded to transgender students under Title IX. Additionally, he declared his intention to sign an executive order that would deprive federal funds to any school that forces our children to learn about transgender craziness, critical race theory, or other offensive racial, sexual, or political topics.
In an opinion piece that was published by Fox News this year, McMahon criticized diversity, equality, and inclusion programs, arguing that these regulations add expenses and administrative difficulties to all apprenticeship programs and that DEI provisions are irrelevant to educating qualified workers.
Along with other former Trump administration officials, McMahon founded the conservative think tank America First Policy Institute in 2021, where she currently serves as its chair of the board. Trump has stated his intention to choose other members of the group, such as former Representative Lee Zeldin of New York to head the Environmental Protection Agency and former Representative Doug Collins of Georgia to be secretary of veteran affairs.
McMahon is the most recent member of Trump’s transition team to be appointed to the Cabinet. He appointed Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, who is co-chairing his transition with McMahon, as his nominee for commerce secretary earlier Tuesday.
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