President-elect Donald Trump has selected Linda McMahon, his transition co-chair, to be the next Secretary of the Department of Education. The announcement, made Tuesday night, confirmed earlier reports of the decision. McMahon’s selection followed the realization that she would not be chosen for Commerce Secretary. Trump had already named his other transition co-chair, Howard Lutnick, to lead the Commerce Department. Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, had previously expressed interest in the Treasury Secretary position, which led to competition with hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.
In a statement, Trump said, “Linda will bring her decades of leadership experience and extensive knowledge of both education and business to help empower the next generation of American students and workers. Her goal is to make America number one in education worldwide. We will return education control to the states, and Linda will lead that initiative.”
Linda McMahon, a prominent Republican donor and former executive in the professional wrestling industry, previously served as the administrator of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. Appointed in 2017, she resigned in 2019 to chair America First Action, a pro-Trump super PAC.
She is also the board chair of the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a think tank formed in 2021 by McMahon, Larry Kudlow, and other former Trump administration advisers. AFPI has raised millions of dollars and is seen as preparing potential policy proposals for Trump’s second term, with some referring to it as a “White House-in-waiting.”
As education secretary, McMahon could be tasked with overseeing the potential dismantling of the Department of Education, a goal Trump frequently advocated for during his campaign. However, abolishing the department would be a challenging task, as it distributes federal funding to nearly all public K-12 schools and manages the $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio. Shutting it down would require Congressional approval.
It is likely that some programs from the Department of Education will be shifted to other federal agencies, as many Republicans aim to reduce the federal government’s involvement in local education. This could involve maintaining funding programs but giving states and schools more flexibility with fewer regulations attached.
Under the new education secretary, the department might use formal regulatory processes to reverse changes made by the Biden administration to Title IX, which expanded protections for LGBTQ+ students. A new rule could potentially assert that Title IX prevents transgender students from participating in girls’ sports teams, a stance Trump supported during his campaign.
Linda McMahon, a former CEO of WWE, co-founded the company with her husband, Vince McMahon. She led WWE’s transformation from a small wrestling organization into a publicly traded media empire before stepping down as CEO in 2009.
McMahon ran for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut twice but was unsuccessful in 2010 and 2012. She self-funded both campaigns, spending $50.1 million in 2010 and $48.7 million in 2012, according to Open Secrets, a nonprofit that tracks campaign finances. Trump donated $5,000 to her 2012 campaign.
McMahon is also a significant Republican donor. During Trump’s first presidential campaign, she contributed over $7 million to two pro-Trump super PACs, according to Open Secrets.