President-elect Donald Trump named Linda McMahon, the co-chair of the Trump-Vance transition team, as the next education secretary on Tuesday night.
McMahon “has been a fierce advocate for Parents’ Rights,” Trump said in a statement on Truth Social.
“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,” the statement added, referring to the policies that allow students to choose an educational option depending on their needs.
On the campaign trail, Trump promised to disband the Education Department, established in 1979, and give states more control. He will likely ask McMahon to execute these plans.
Trump didn’t clarify how he would go about it. Permanently shuttering the department would require congressional approval.
Conservatives argue the Education Department is failing students, as test scores in reading and math continue to drop, even as the agency spends tens of billions of dollars. For fiscal year 2025, the DOE requested $82.4 billion.
Although McMahon has attracted scrutiny from teachers’ unions for her Trump-aligned political beliefs, her largely uncontroversial political career, and her think tank credentials, make her confirmation in the Senate highly probable.
Rep. Burgess Owens reacts to Trump’s pick for education secretary
Rep. Burgess Owens said Trump’s move to nominate McMahon is an example of the bold leadership necessary to reform the education department.
“For too long, Washington bureaucrats have prioritized ideology over students, pushing DEI schemes over merit and indoctrination over results,” Owens, who represents Utah’s 4th District, said in a statement on Wednesday. “That ends now.”
“Education isn’t just about opportunity — it’s a national security issue. A failing system leaves our workforce unprepared and our nation weaker,” Owens said. He is vying for chairmanship over the House Education Committee.
“Under President Trump, the Department of Education will empower families with real choices, hold failing schools accountable, and prepare students to succeed in the real world,” the Utah representative said.
“We will never stop fighting to build an education system that rewards merit, values achievement, and gives every American a fair shot at the American dream.”
But teachers’ unions are critical of McMahon. National Education Association President Becky Pringle, in a post on X said, “Students deserve better than an extreme and unqualified Secretary of Education.”
“By selecting Linda McMahon, Donald Trump shows that he could not care less about our students’ futures,” Pringle added. “Instead of strengthening our nation’s schools, Donald Trump has picked Betsy DeVos 2.0.”
DeVos, who served the DOE under Trump’s first term, reeled back the control her department had over schools, including rescinding earlier guidance on transgender students and school discipline, as NPR reported. She also oversaw spending cuts to her agency, consolidating and ending programs.
Linda McMahon’s political background
Trump and McMahon have known each other for decades. Back in 2007, when the president-elect starred on “The Apprentice,” he appeared on World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, founded by McMahon and her husband Vince McMahon.
Trump had storylines on WWE, including a “Battle of the Billionaires” against Vince McMahon. Trump’s fighter won, and the president-elect shaved McMahon’s head as a part of the deal.
Linda McMahon stepped down as CEO of WWE in 2009, and after a brief stint on Connecticut’s state Board of Education, where she oversaw the public education system with 14 other members, she ran for Senate. She ran unsuccessful campaigns as a Republican against Richard Blumenthal in 2008, and in 2012 against Chris Murphy.
McMahon was also on the board of trustees at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, for about 15 years.
According to Open Secrets, she is a Republican donor and has given pro-Trump super PACs more than $7 million.
McMahon was the head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. She left the position in 2019 to chair the Trump-backed America First Action super PAC. At the time, the president-elect called her a “superstar.”
“She’s going to go and help us with a very, very important year and a half that we have coming up,” he added. “And the reelection as they call it. And we look forward to that.”