Linda McMahon, Co-chair of Donald Trump’s transition team, has been selected by the president-elect to serve as the education secretary in his forthcoming administration, reported The Guardian.
In a statement, Trump praised the "incredible" work McMahon, the billionaire Co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), has done as co-chair of the transition team, 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. … We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort,” he said.
The Department of Education is crucial in providing funding to public schools, managing federal student aid programmes, and collecting educational data in the United States. Trump has promised to reduce much of its federal oversight and transfer the power to the states.
He has not clarified how he plans to shut down the Department of Education, which was established by Congress in 1979, which would also likely require congressional action to dismantle it.
Who is Linda McMahon?
1) McMahon served in Trump’s cabinet in his first administration as the administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019.
2) McMahon is the former chief executive of WWE, which she co-founded with her husband, Vince McMahon.
3) McMahon left her role as WWE CEO to pursue politics, running twice for a US Senate seat in Connecticut, but lost to Richard Blumenthal in 2010 and Chris Murphy in 2012.
4) Since 2021, McMahon has been the chair of the Washington DC-based think tank America First Policy Institute’s board and chair of its Center for the American Worker.
5) McMahon had donated $814,600 to Trump’s 2024 campaign as of July.
