Trump picks former WWE executive Linda McMahon for education secretary

Linda McMahon, co-chair of Donald Trump’s transition team, has been nominated for education secretary in his upcoming administration.

In a statement, Trump extolled the “incredible” job she was doing as transition team co-chair and said: “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.”

The nomination comes after McMahon’s co-chair on the transition team and billionaire founder of the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick, was appointed as commerce secretary.

McMahon was named as transition team chair in August, after having donated a whopping $814,600 to Trump’s campaign as of July. She previously served in Trump’s cabinet in his first administration as the administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019.

Since 2021, McMahon has served as Washington DC-based thinktank America First Policy Institute’s board chairperson and chair of its Center for the American Worker.

A former Senate candidate in Connecticut, McMahon is also the chair and chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald and a former executive of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which she co-founded with her husband, Vince McMahon.

In October, McMahon was named in a new lawsuit involving the WWE. The suit alleges that she and other leaders of the company allowed the sexual abuse of young boys at the hands of a ringside announcer, former WWE ring crew chief Melvin Phillips Jr. The complaint specifically alleges that the McMahons knew about the abuse and failed to stop it.

An attorney for the McMahons told USA TODAY Sports that the allegations are “false claims” stemming from reporting that the couple deems “absurd, defamatory and utterly meritless”.