By Zach Montague and Ana Swanson
Donald Trump, the president-elect, has appointed Linda McMahon, a past professional wrestling executive and former head of the Small Business Administration during much of his initial term, to oversee the Education Department, an agency he has consistently indicated may be cut in his new term.
A close ally of Trump and a steadfast supporter of his political endeavors, McMahon was one of his early financial backers during his 2016 electoral campaign and has played a significant role on his transition team, reviewing other potential appointees and crafting potential executive orders since August.
At 76, McMahon represents a significant departure from conventional candidates for this position, being an executive without any teaching experience or substantial professional background in education policy, apart from a brief appointment to the Connecticut State Board of Education in 2009, where she served for just over a year.
However, McMahon is poised to undertake the challenging responsibility of implementing what is anticipated to be a comprehensive and determined dismantling of the department’s essential functions. She will assume the role at a crucial moment as school districts nationwide grapple with budget deficits, many students struggle to recover lost academic progress in reading and math from the pandemic, and numerous colleges and universities face downsizing and closures amid declining confidence in the value of higher education.
“We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will lead that initiative,” Trump stated in an announcement about the appointment on Tuesday.
Having led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term, McMahon resigned in 2019 with no public dispute with Trump, who lauded her at her exit as “one of our all-time favorites” and a “superstar.” She stepped down to assist with Trump’s reelection efforts and became the chair of the pro-Trump political action committee America First Action.
Recently, McMahon has also been influential in paving the way for a second Trump presidency as the chair of the America First Policy Institute, a conservative policy organization. This institute has provided training for prospective leaders, outlined staffing strategies, and crafted policy agendas for every federal agency, competing with the similar Project 2025 initiative led by the Heritage Foundation.
Since last year, Trump has reportedly expressed private grievances that the America First Policy Institute, which bolstered its ranks with former officials from his first term, owed him a share of the funds he claims it raised through its political connections to him.
Nonetheless, the group maintained strong connections to Trump’s transition team, and McMahon’s nomination on Tuesday further underscores its significance.
Due in part to her recent policy involvement and her experience as the small-business head, McMahon was briefly considered a candidate for the Commerce Department until the position was officially offered to Howard Lutnick, a Wall Street executive and chair of the Trump transition team, earlier that same day.
While Trump has persistently advocated for the outright elimination of the agency, any attempt to close it would necessitate congressional action and backing from some Republican legislators whose districts rely on federal funding for public education.
On Monday, Vivek Ramaswamy, anticipated to recommend significant reductions in the federal workforce as a leader of the proposed government efficiency department, expressed support on social media for a proposal to dissolve the department, deeming it a “very reasonable proposal.”
However, the America First Policy Institute has laid out a more immediate list of reforms they claim could be implemented by significantly altering the department’s focus. These reforms include halting schools from “promoting inaccurate and unpatriotic concepts” regarding American history linked to institutionalized racism, and expanding voucher programs that allocate more public funds to parents for homeschooling, online education, or tuition at private and religious schools.
In his announcement regarding the selection, Trump highlighted McMahon’s contributions at the America First Policy Institute, stating that it aimed at promoting universal school choice policies across the 12 states that have currently adopted them.
“Linda will work tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, enabling parents to make the best education choices for their families,” the statement indicated.
Shortly before her announcement, McMahon shared a post on social media advocating for “apprenticeship programs” and showcasing successful examples in Switzerland, frequently cited as a high-achieving country whose model the U.S. should emulate.
For decades, McMahon has financially supported Trump’s political campaigns and the now-defunct Trump Foundation. In 2016, she donated over $7 million to two pro-Trump super PACs, according to data from the watchdog organization OpenSecrets. In 2024, she contributed $10 million to the Make America Great Again PAC.
In 2009, McMahon left her position as CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment to campaign as a Republican for Connecticut’s U.S. Senate seat. She invested heavily in her campaign, securing her party’s nomination, but ultimately lost to Democrats Richard Blumenthal in 2010 and Chris Murphy in 2012.
Trump’s connections to McMahon and her husband, Vince McMahon, span decades. He was a sponsor for the WWE event WrestleMania during its occurrence in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the late 1980s, and later became involved in his own storylines on WrestleMania where he was depicted throwing punches in the ring and shaving Vince McMahon’s head.
The duo staged a fictional rivalry where Trump feigned purchasing the franchise from Vince McMahon, causing a real market disruption for the company’s stock, only to resell it at double the price. In 2013, WWE honored Trump by inducting him into its hall of fame.
