President-elect Trump intends to nominate Linda McMahon, the head of the Small Business Administration (SBA) from his first term, to lead the Department of Education, which he has long threatened to dismantle.
McMahon, who could potentially be tasked with ending the department, will be put in charge of heading up changes to Title IX and determining how student debt is handled.
McMahon is the first person Trump has nominated for a Cabinet secretary spot who also served in his previous administration. She was previously the head of the SBA from 2017 to 2019.
She stepped down from that role in 2019 to take a position on Trump’s reelection campaign at the time.
Shortly after resigning, McMahon was named chair of a super PAC called America First Action.
McMahon has stayed in Trump’s good graces while he was out of office and is in charge of co-leading the president-elect’s transition team.
McMahon brings in a unique background as she was CEO of World Wresting Entertainment (WWE), co-founding the organization with her husband, Vince McMahon.
The endeavor started in 1980 with a small company called Titan Sports that transformed into a massive publicly traded corporation.
She resigned as CEO in 2009, but during her time with WWE it donated millions of dollars to the Donald J. Trump Foundation.
WWE did get involved in the education sector, with campaigns supporting arts education and encouraging young people to read with bookmarks and posters.
McMahon has juggled many hats during her career but has spent little time in the education realm.
Her most direct experience was in Connecticut, where she served on the State Board of Education for a year in 2009 before stepping down to run for Senate.
When McMahon made it on the board, she was criticized for lack of experience in the area.
She also served as a member on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in 2004, with the school naming a building after her in 2012.
She most recently was the board chair of the America First Policy Institute, which touts policies such as eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion offices.
McMahon was not typically one of the names floated to lead education under Trump.
Rumors swirled she might be nominated for Commerce secretary before Trump gave the position to Howard Lutnick. Lutnick was co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with McMahon, and a billionaire investor who has been on Wall Street for a long time.
