President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Linda McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive who served in the first Trump administration, as his pick to lead the Education Department.
If she is confirmed by the Senate, McMahon would oversee a department that Trump said he planned to “get rid” of as it currently exists and allow each state to individually “handle education.”
“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,” Trump said in a statement that described McMahon as a “fierce advocate for Parents’ Rights.”
In her own statement, McMahon said she was "committed to working tirelessly to ensure every student has access to a quality education."
"I’ve witnessed the transformative power of education, both in the classroom and also in apprenticeship programs," McMahon said. "I look forward to working collaboratively with students — educators — parents and communities to strengthen our educational system; ensuring every child regardless of their demographics is prepared for a bright future."
On Tuesday, she joined Trump and Elon Musk, who was named as a co-chair of a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” at the SpaceX Starship launch in Texas ahead of the president-elect's announcement.
CNN first reported on McMahon as Trump’s pick for education secretary.
McMahon, 76, is a co-chair of Trump's presidential transition team. She was head of the Small Business Administration during his first presidency before she stepped down from the Cabinet-level post in 2019 to lead the pro-Trump America First Action super PAC.
Before she joined the first Trump administration, McMahon served on the Connecticut State Board of Education in 2009, before she resigned to make unsuccessful bids in 2010 and 2012 for U.S. Senate seats in the state.
McMahon was one of Trump's top donors during the 2024 campaign — contributing more than $20 million to the Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC, as well as $937,800 to his campaign and affiliated joint fundraising committees. She is married to former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Vince McMahon.
The Education Department has a budget of $241.6 billion and employs about 13,000 workers, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management.
Under the Biden administration, the Education Department has approved the cancellation of $175 billion in student loan debt. The administration has also sought to expand civil rights protections for LGBTQ students with a new Title IX rule that broadens the definition of sex-based harassment in schools. The rule has been blocked in several states that challenged the policy.
Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, sharply criticized Trump's pick.
“By selecting Linda McMahon, Donald Trump is showing that he could not care less about our students’ futures," Pringle said in a statement, arguing that McMahon's "only mission is to eliminate the Department of Education and take away taxpayer dollars from public schools."
In addition to his plans to get rid of the Education Department in its existing format, Trump said on the campaign trail that he would undo Title IX protections for transgender students. He also said that he plans to sign an executive order that would strip federal funding “from any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content onto the shoulders of our children.”
McMahon has criticized diversity, equity and inclusion programs, writing in an op-ed published by Fox News this year that DEI provisions were “irrelevant to training skilled workers” and that such policies “add costs and administrative burdens to all apprenticeship programs.”
McMahon is chair of the board at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank she launched with other former Trump administration officials in 2021. Trump has said he plans to nominate others affiliated with the organization, including former Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia for veteran affairs secretary and former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
McMahon is also the latest Cabinet pick from Trump’s transition team. Earlier Tuesday he named Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, who is co-chairing his transition alongside McMahon, as his choice for commerce secretary.
