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President Donald Trump has tapped Connecticut resident and former U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon to lead the U.S. Department of Education — an agency he has repeatedly expressed a desire to dismantle — and the full U.S. Senate is set to vote on her confirmation.
McMahon, 76, of Greenwich, co-founded Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment with her husband, Vince McMahon, in the early 1980s. Her background is largely in business, though she has been involved in political fundraising and served in Trump’s Cabinet during his first term.
Here’s what to know about her experience in government and politics.
McMahon has run for Senate in Connecticut twice.
McMahon, 76, stepped down as CEO of WWE in 2009 to run for political office.
She twice unsuccessfully ran as the Republican nominee to represent Connecticut in the U.S. Senate, spending a combined $100 million of her own money between the two high-profile races.
She took on Sen. Richard Blumenthal in 2010, earning 44% of the vote to Blumenthal’s 54%. Two years later, she ran against Sen. Chris Murphy for an open Senate seat vacated by former Sen. Joe Lieberman. Murphy won with nearly 55% of the vote, while McMahon received 43%.
She is a longtime Trump ally.
McMahon donated $6 million to a pro-Trump super PAC in 2016, and during his first term in office, the president chose her to lead the U.S. Small Business Administration.
She held that position from 2017 to 2019 before stepping down to chair another pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action, raising tens of millions of dollars for his 2020 reelection bid.
She also served as chair of the board for the America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit right-wing think tank staffed by former Trump administration officials, and was part of the Connecticut delegation at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
And she most recently served as the co-chair of Trump’s transition team and had been rumored to be under consideration to lead the U.S. Department of Commerce before Trump nominated her for the Education Department role.
Her education experience is limited.
McMahon was appointed to the Connecticut state board of education in 2009 by then-Gov. Jodi Rell, a position she held for about a year.
She has also served on Sacred Heart University’s board of trustees for many years.
Following her nomination to lead the Education Department, Sacred Heart President John J. Petillo said he was “confident that Linda’s leadership will bring enormous value to the education system, just as it has to Sacred Heart University.”
She said she would work alongside Congress to “reorient” the Education Department.
The primary focus of her confirmation hearing was Trump’s promise to dismantle the Education Department. McMahon repeatedly acknowledged that the Trump administration does not have the authority to unilaterally shutter a department created under federal statute and that doing so would require congressional approval.
But she testified she will work alongside Congress “to reorient the department.” She also suggested that certain programs, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, could instead be housed in other agencies that do not oversee education matters, like the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
At the hearing, McMahon also said she would focus on more post-secondary pathways like apprenticeships, advocate for school choice, and prevent transgender student athletes from competing in women’s sports.
