5 Things to Know About Linda McMahon, Trump’s Nominee for Education Secretary

Linda McMahon, the 25th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, discusses the state of America’s small businesses at a National Press Club headliners luncheon, on May 17. Noel St. John/The National Press Club

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Nov. 19 that he is nominating billionaire Linda McMahon to be his Education Secretary.

“Linda will use her decades of leadership experience and deep understanding of both education and business to empower the next generation of American students and workers and make America Number One in education in the world,” Trump said in a statement.

Trump has pledged to dismantle the Department of Education, though that would require an act of Congress. He has also said the issue of education would be left to the individual states to decide. The department has 4,400 employees.

If confirmed by the Senate, McMahon, 76, would be the fourth female to head the Department of Education.

Below are five things to know about her.

Served in First Trump Administration

McMahon was the administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) from February 2017 to April 2019 after her nomination by Trump was confirmed by the Senate in a vote of 81–19. The SBA, which has more than 2,800 employees, helps small businesses by providing financing, including loans.

During her tenure, McMahon led the SBA in providing assistance to small businesses after Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

McMahon subsequently was chair of America First Action SuperPAC and America First Policy, LLC., which played major roles in Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign.

Co-Founded WWE

McMahon and her husband, Vince McMahon, founded World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 1980. Originally called Titan Sports Inc., it is the largest wrestling league in the world. She served as the organization’s CEO.

Before they started WWE, the McMahons faced hardship.

“Our house was auctioned off. My car was repossessed in the driveway. I was pregnant with our second child,” Linda McMahon said at the National Press Club in 2018.

Ran for Senate

McMahon ran for the Senate in 2010 and 2012, both times without success.

In 2010, she was defeated by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), 55.19 percent to 43.24 percent.

Two years later, she lost to Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), 54.82 percent to 43.07 percent.

Prior to running for the Senate, she was at WWE until 2009. That same year, she was appointed to the Connecticut Board of Education.

If her nomination is confirmed, McMahon would succeed Miguel Cardona, who also worked in Connecticut’s education field, as the state’s education commissioner.

Chair of Trump Policy Think Tank

McMahon was chair of the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), which advocates for Trump’s agenda.

“Our guiding principles are liberty, free enterprise, national greatness, American military superiority, foreign-policy engagement in the American interest, and the primacy of American workers, families, and communities in all we do,” says the institute’s mission statement.

In this position, McMahon advocated for school choice, workforce Pell Grants, and American workers. She has criticized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices, writing in a March opinion piece published by Fox News that, in the workforce, they “add costs and administrative burdens to all apprenticeship programs.”

Co-Chair of Trump’s Transition

In August, a few months before the election, Trump announced McMahon, a major donor and fundraiser for Trump’s campaigns, and Wall Street investor Howard Lutnick as co-chairs of his transition team.

The campaign issued a statement at the time: “The 2024 GOP platform to Make America Great Again is a forward-looking agenda that will deliver safety, prosperity, and freedom for the American people.”

The team continued its work following Trump’s Nov. 5 election win, and Lutnick would go on to be Trump’s nominee for Commerce Secretary.