Trump taps CT’s Linda McMahon to run Department of Education. What to know her CT history
The president-elect made another cabinet selection, this time from the world of professional wrestling and with Connecticut ties.
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he had chosen Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., to be his nominee for secretary of the Department of 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 decision for families,” Trump said.
The Education Department provides some funding for public schools, administers federal student aid programs and collects data on US education. Trump has vowed to close the department and redistribute most services to state-level education officials.
Now, it may fall in the hands of McMahon to make that promise happen should the Senate choose to approve Trump’s pick.
This nomination comes as another in a long line of notable Trump allies rewarded with presidential selections, from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services to Matt Gaetz as attorney general heading the Department of Justice.
Who is Linda McMahon?
Linda McMahon, who has a net worth of $3.2 billion, has been nominated by the president-elect to serve on his cabinet.
McMahon is a Connecticut billionaire who used to head the biggest professional wrestling company in the world, WWE, but decided to pursue politics in 2009. She was married to and is now separated from Vince McMahon, former owner of the WWE.
She attempted two runs at the Senate as a Connecticut Republican, failing in both the 2010 and 2012 races to Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, respectively.
After those two runs, she played the role of a lucrative Republican donor, and then, during Trump’s first term, McMahon served as administrator of the Small Business Administration under Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2019.
In a lawsuit against McMahon, her former husband and the media conglomerate TKO Group Holdings, Inc., McMahon is alleged to have helped perpetuate the sexual abuse of five victims known as the Ring Boys.
The lawsuit is ongoing.
Savannah Kuchar contributed to the reporting of this story.
Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Who is Linda McMahon? What to know Trump’s latest cabinet pick
