The former professional wrestling executive, currently chair of the America First Policy Institute, is pro–charter schools and school choice.
Education Secretary chosen: Yesterday, President-elect Donald Trump announced his pick for heading up the Education Department: Linda McMahon, a former professional wrestling executive who ran the Small Business Administration for a substantial portion of his first term. “We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort”, says Trump, semi-acknowledging the tension between his vow to abolish the department and the fact that he just appointed its chief.
Currently, McMahon serves as chair of the America First Policy Institute, which is a think tank full of Trump-administration veterans who have been boning up on policy priorities in preparation for a second term in the White House. She and her husband, Vince, have been in charge of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for years, and the company—under its former name—was started by the McMahon family. McMahon served on the Connecticut State Board of Education for one year, starting in 2009, but otherwise has pretty much no education experience. Maybe that’s not so bad, though: Her actual views appear to be pretty aligned with Trump’s, who holds plenty of views on this issue that libertarians can get behind.
McMahon is pro–charter schools and a proponent of school choice. “We must require high standards and accountability for teachers and school administrators, and I support the current review of the teacher evaluation process that the State Board is undertaking”, she wrote on her campaign website in 2010, when she was running for U.S. Senate to represent Connecticut. (She was defeated.) “Apprenticeship Programs are a pathway to successful careers”, wrote McMahon on X yesterday, signaling a possible priority. “Switzerland provides a model the rest of the world can adapt.
