In filling his cabinet, President-elect Donald Trump is giving greater weight to loyalty and wealth over experience and credentials. That is clear in his nominee for secretary of education.
Linda McMahon, a longtime Trump ally and supporter, is the co-founder and former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment. When Trump was the star of the NBC reality show “The Apprentice,” he made an appearance at the WWE’s WrestleMania in 2007. The 76-year-old Connecticut billionaire served as chief of Small Business Administration in Trump’s first administration, resigning in 2019 to help with his reelection campaign.
She also ran for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012, losing both times.
Her experience in setting and overseeing education policy is limited to 2009, when she was appointed to the Connecticut State Board of Education by then-Gov. Jodi Rell, serving for a little over a year. McMahon incorrectly claimed in 2009 that she had a bachelor’s degree in education on a questionnaire for the post, according to news reports at the time. Her degree from East Carolina University is in French.
McMahon’s nomination was met with a cordial but cautious statement from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.
“We will try to work with anyone who puts the aspirations of our students, families and communities first,” Weingarten said. “That means strengthening public education, not undermining it. Voters made it clear that’s what they wanted in November’s down-ballot elections. We look forward to learning more about Linda McMahon, and if she is confirmed we will reach out to her as we did with Betsy DeVos at the beginning of her tenure.” DeVos was Trump’s education secretary during his first term.
The reaction of the nation’s largest teaching union was not as restrained.
“By selecting Linda McMahon, Donald Trump is showing that he could not care less about our students’ futures,” said National Education Association President Becky Pringle. “The Senate must stand up for our students and reject Donald Trump’s unqualified nominee, Linda McMahon. Our students and our nation deserve so much better than Betsy DeVos 2.0.”
McMahon faces a complex challenge if confirmed as secretary of education. Trump says shuttering the Department of Education and returning education to the states are his main education goals. Yet he also wants McMahon to use the influence of her federal position and agency to expand school choice to every state.
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