Yesterday, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Linda McMahon, the new secretary of the Department of Education, an agency that President Trump has repeatedly criticized, saying he is intent on dismantling it altogether. McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, better known worldwide as WWE, was confirmed with 51 votes for and 45 against.
The 76-year-old, wife of Vince McMahon, a controversial figure in wrestling and entertainment, has been a major supporter of the MAGA leader for years. She had previously served in the first Trump administration, serving as head of the Small Business Administration between 2017 and 2019, when she resigned to become president of America First Action, a pro-Republican super PAC.
Now, with her appointment as education secretary, McMahon will be tasked with advancing plans promoted by Trump, who since taking office in the White House has signed executive orders to eliminate diversity programs and accommodations for transgender students in schools.
“It’s an honor to serve as the 13th Secretary of Education under President Trump”, McMahon wrote on X, “He pledged to make U.S. education the best in the world, return education to the states, and free students from bureaucracy through school choice. I intend to make good on those promises.”
As reported by several industry analysts, McMahon could also be tasked with overseeing the demise of the department itself, after Trump repeatedly called for the agency’s abolition. Closing the DOE, which disburses funding to nearly every K-12 public school in the country and administers $1.6 trillion in federal student loans, however, would require congressional approval.
Supporters of the current administration see the former WWE CEO as an executive who can reform a department that Republicans say has failed to improve American education. Critics, on the other hand, say the new secretary has little experience in this sensitive area, and fear that her proposed budget cuts could affect the country’s students.
For her part, during her confirmation hearing, McMahon reiterated that her goal is to make the Department of Education “operate more efficiently,” while acknowledging that only Congress has the authority to shut down the agency.
To date, the DOE’s future appears somewhat difficult to decipher. While the new secretary has pledged to protect key funding managed by the department, Elon Musk’s DOGE has already initiated the downsizing of the agency.
