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Education is at a Crossroads: Help Us Illuminate the Path Forward.听

President-elect Donald Trump didn鈥檛 look far to find his pick to be the next education secretary. 

Linda McMahon, who co-chairs his transition team and previously led the WWE, or World Wrestling Entertainment, has known him for 30 years, served in his first administration, and since 2019, has been laying the foundation for his return to the White House. 

A former Connecticut State Board of Education member who led the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019, McMahon would likely shift the focus of the department toward workforce development while also pursuing key policy priorities, like . 

Those who defend traditional public schools see McMahon鈥檚 nomination as an effort to eliminate important civil rights protections for students and slash funding for high-poverty schools, but some advocates saw room for her to make a positive impact.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 hate it,鈥� said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union. 鈥淗aving an education secretary that is focused on economic mobility and getting our kids prepared for the jobs and the economy in the future is not a bad thing.鈥� 

In choosing McMahon, 76, Trump passed over others who expressed interest in the post. They include Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, and Oklahoma state Superintendent Ryan Walters, who some say has been 鈥渁uditioning鈥� for the job for over a year by enacting policies in line with Trump鈥檚 鈥渁nti-woke鈥� platform. Just last week, Walters mandated that schools show a for the president-elect.

Meanwhile, McMahon 鈥� as board chair of the America First Policy Institute, a far-right 鈥� has been integral to shaping the incoming administration鈥檚 agenda. The organization argues that parents should have over their children鈥檚 education, including the ability to review all curriculum materials. But Trump鈥檚 agenda also includes wiping out the U.S. Department of Education, a goal that could become McMahon鈥檚 primary charge.

In a statement, he said McMahon would lead efforts to 鈥渟end education BACK TO THE STATES.鈥�

Advocates who have worked to stem the conservative effort to win school board seats and limit progressive ideas in curriculum said Trump鈥檚 goals are clear, regardless of who he tapped to lead the department.

“They all seem identical policy-wise,鈥� said Katie Paris, founder of Red Wine and Blue, a network of suburban women who support moderate candidates for office. She said she expects McMahon to be 鈥渓ess bombastic鈥� than culture warriors like Justice or Walters, 鈥渂ut just as dangerous for kids.”

The nation鈥檚 largest teachers union said McMahon, like former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos during Trump鈥檚 first term, will undermine public education.

鈥淩ather than working to strengthen public schools, expand learning opportunities for students, and support educators, McMahon鈥檚 only mission is to eliminate the Department of Education and take away taxpayer dollars from public schools,鈥� National Education Association President Becky Pringle said in .

McMahon is also likely to face questions about , filed in October, in which she and her husband Vince are accused of knowing about and not stopping Mel Phillips, WWE鈥檚 ringside announcer in the 1980s and 鈥�90s, from sexually abusing young 鈥渞ing boys鈥� who ran errands related to . Vince McMahon has said the claims are false. 

He also as executive chairman of TKO, which owns WWE, amid allegations of with a former employee. He has denied the accusations. 

鈥楥onsolation prize鈥�

The fact that McMahon initially expressed interest in leading the was a red flag for Michael Petrilli, president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

鈥淭reating the Department of Education as a consolation prize demonstrates the low priority that President Trump places on the issue,鈥� he said. 

It was during the years Petrilli served in the education department, under former President George W. Bush, that McMahon said she became interested in education. She learned that her local schools near Greenwich, Connecticut, weren鈥檛 meeting expectations under No Child Left Behind, the federal law that tied accountability to improvement on test scores. 

鈥淚鈥嬧�媡’s a very wealthy community. We pay a great deal of our taxes towards education,鈥� former football coach Lou Holtz, who hosts a sponsored by America First Policy Institute. 鈥淗ow can that happen?鈥�

Through her connections with then-Gov. Jodi Rell, she began visiting public, charter and private schools. And in 2009, Rell appointed her to finish out a term on the state board, a seat she resigned in 2010 to run for the U.S. Senate, losing to Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

鈥淚 said 鈥業’m certainly not in the world of education. I don’t know if this is what you’re looking for,鈥� 鈥� McMahon told Holtz. 鈥淸Rell] said 鈥業’m looking for exactly who you are, somebody from the outside.鈥� 鈥� 

Outgoing Secretary Miguel Cardona served as education commissioner in Connecticut from 2019 to 2021 but didn鈥檛 overlap McMahon鈥檚 short tenure on the state board.

In 2006, McMahon also launched WWE鈥檚 , in which celebrity wrestlers promote literacy through posters and public service announcements. 

She lost a second bid for the Senate, against Democrat Chris Murphy, in 2012. 

Like Trump in his first term, she touts , but has said force businesses to spend more money on training. And she has advocated for bipartisan legislation that would extend Pell Grant eligibility to students in workforce training programs, not just traditional colleges.

鈥淐ongress should recognize the effort and commitment of American workers by funding the skills training and technical education most laborers rely on,鈥� she wrote in an .

Rodrigues, with the National Parents Union, described McMahon as someone who would be 鈥渁n education secretary with some serious juice鈥� and would also have a 鈥渄irect line鈥� to the president because of her long-time connections with him. McMahon is also a leading having given $ as of July.

鈥淚t’s going to be interesting to see an education secretary who’s going to have the ability, and frankly the balls, to call the president and get some things done in the education system,鈥� Rodrigues said.

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