President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 selection of Linda McMahon to serve as secretary of education comes after months of campaign promises to broaden families鈥� access to public money for private school tuition, increase parents鈥� control over schools, and abolish the U.S. Department of Education.
McMahon, 76, is a wealthy businesswoman who founded and served as CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment. She beat out more public-facing, vocal advocates of Trump鈥檚 education causes who have garnered national headlines. But she鈥檚 proven herself to be an ideological ally of Trump鈥檚, who has steadfastly supported him since his first run for office in 2016, including as a donor and prolific fundraiser.
As education secretary, McMahon would be tasked with dismantling the department she leads if Trump follows through with his campaign promise. He鈥檚 also pledged to cut federal funding to schools 鈥減ushing critical race theory鈥� and 鈥渢ransgender insanity.鈥� (During her time leading the Small Business Administration in Trump鈥檚 first term, the agency was criticized for the removal of a webpage with resources for LGBTQ+ business owners; the webpage was later restored, )
Here are five things to know about the president-elect鈥檚 choice for secretary of education.
1. McMahon was never a classroom teacher, but she says she had ambitions to be one
If confirmed by the Senate, McMahon will come into the nation鈥檚 top education job with no K-12 classroom or school administration experience, which is not unusual. Just four secretaries of education had K-12 teaching or administrative experience on their resumes鈥擬iguel Cardona, the current education secretary; John King, the second education secretary under Democrat Barack Obama; Rod Paige, Republican George W. Bush鈥檚 first appointee to the role; and Terrel Bell, who served under Republican Ronald Reagan.
But McMahon says she had once before her marriage and career took her in a different direction (more on that in a minute). Her alma mater, East Carolina University, said that she graduated with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in French and a teaching certification. (She鈥檚 faced scrutiny for that she graduated with an education degree.)
McMahon was by Jodi Rell, then Connecticut鈥檚 Republican governor. State lawmakers there confirmed her for the post, but questioned her knowledge of education and whether having a WWE executive serve in the post would send the right message,
Her time there was short-lived. She left her post early to make the first of two unsuccessful bids to represent Connecticut in the U.S. Senate. At the time, lawmakers there
2. Yes, Linda McMahon was a pro-wrestling executive
At this point, you鈥檝e probably seen the clips circulating of the president-elect鈥檚 pick for secretary of education in the ring.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present your new Secretary of Education MOTHER Linda McMahon 馃拝
— Dalton馃彸锔忊�嶐煂堭焽吼焽� (@Ariesguy041499)
McMahon, along with husband Vince McMahon, co-founded and led World Wrestling Entertainment, where she grew the brand for years into a multibillion-dollar enterprise. She left in 2009, when she began to pursue her political ambitions.
Some supporters of McMahon鈥檚, including Trump, have pointed to her business background as an asset for leading the agency with a nearly $80 billion budget.
鈥淩unning federal student aid is the biggest Department of Education function, and it has long been decrepit, perhaps because secretaries have never come from financial backgrounds. A good sign for McMahon is that she has had a successful business career, albeit running steel cage matches and not red tape machines,鈥� director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Washington. 鈥淏ut she probably knows something about efficiency and effectiveness.鈥�
McMahon鈥檚 tenure as a WWE executive came under fire recently in a that alleged the organization鈥檚 leaders were aware of and didn鈥檛 stop a longtime ringside announcer from sexually abusing young boys who helped the ring crew, The lawsuit named McMahon and her husband Vince, whose attorney called the claims 鈥渁bsurd, defamatory, and utterly meritless,鈥� .
3. She has had an interest in literacy and career preparation
McMahon said previously she was involved with Teach For America and charter schools. She was complimentary of teaching and the profession in an interview with , saying that she watched 鈥渕asterful teachers鈥� help students gain ground. She said the country had a 鈥渧ery good system with public and private schools.鈥� She also said she was a proponent of charter schools.
In 2000, she launched WWE鈥檚 鈥淕ET REAL鈥� campaign aimed at delivering positive messages about education and literacy to young adults through public service announcements, posters, and bookmarks featuring WWE stars.
A page on WWE鈥檚 site showed McMahon at a Connecticut elementary school at an event after her appointment to the state鈥檚 school board.
And on Nov. 19, hours before Trump announced her as his pick to lead the Education Department, she citing Switzerland as a model.
The National Parents Union said in a statement that the group hoped she would focus on literacy and persistent learning loss after the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than get into the political fray on measures Republicans have increasingly taken issue with, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion, critical race theory, and transgender student rights.
4. Linda McMahon is a longtime proponent of school choice
Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, in a newspaper op-ed about the importance of education policy at the federal level. 鈥淥ne of the issues most important to me is the question of school choice,鈥� she wrote, saying that parents should be able to choose from 鈥渘eighborhood schools, private schools, religious schools or charter schools.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe charter schools take anything away from traditional public schools; rather, I think they can be centers for innovation and models for best practices,鈥� she wrote in the August 2015 essay, in which she also fondly recalled her 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Hollister, as someone 鈥渨ho was considered very strict and certainly set a high bar.
鈥淚 worked so hard in her class and had tons of homework,鈥� McMahon said. 鈥淏ut when she reviewed a student鈥檚 work and said, 鈥榳ell done,鈥� there was an amazing warmth in her eyes. I never wanted to disappoint her.鈥�
鈥淚 believe all children deserve teachers who will spark their passions, who will encourage them, who will refuse to let them settle for adequate when they have potential to be great,鈥� McMahon continued. 鈥淭oo often, kids most in need of a teacher鈥攁 role model鈥攖o believe in them, to challenge them and to inspire them are stuck in failing schools that do not meet their needs.鈥�
In her first campaign for U.S. Senate, which she lost to Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, McMahon called for more 鈥渃hoice and competition鈥� through the expansion of charter schools, Education Week reported at the time.
Trump prioritized policies intended to expand families鈥� access to taxpayer dollars for private school in his first term, though made only modest progress in advancing it at the federal level; Betsy DeVos, his education secretary in the first term, has long pushed the issue at both the state and federal levels. In his second term, Trump is likely to double down on that effort.
鈥淟inda will fight tirelessly to expand 鈥楥hoice鈥� to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families,鈥� Trump wrote in his announcement of McMahon鈥檚 selection.
5. McMahon鈥檚 longtime connection to Trump, and work promoting his public policy agenda, offers a clue to priorities
Trump appeared in WWE programs over the years, and McMahon donated to his first campaign,
And though McMahon鈥檚 own political aims faced a roadblock after her losses in 2010 and 2012, she found a political home with Trump. She donated generously to his first campaign, and was later appointed to serve as head of the Small Business Administration during the Republican鈥檚 first term.
She stepped down from the SBA in 2019 to lead the America First Action PAC in support of Trump鈥檚 reelection. Most recently, she鈥檚 served as Trump鈥檚 transition team co-chair.
Though not as visibly outspoken as other people who were publicly considered contenders for the education secretary job, McMahon has played a key role in refining a Trump policy agenda. She serves as chair of the board for the America First Policy Institute, an organization formed after Trump鈥檚 2020 loss that has .
for increased parental rights and advancing vouchers for private schools, and taken aim at curriculum dealing with race and racism and gender and sexuality. , the organization advocates for the end of school district boundaries so parents can enroll their children in any school in their state.
