Linda McMahon was chosen by President-elect Donald Trump Tuesday night to succeed Miguel Cardona as the head of the U.S. Department of Education, according to CNN.
If confirmed, McMahon would take the helm of a department that Trump campaigned on eliminating and could oversee a major overhaul. Trump has said “we’re going to end education coming out of Washington” and “send it all back to the states.”
“I say it all the time, I’m dying to get back to do this. We will ultimately eliminate the federal Department of Education,” Trump said at a Wisconsin campaign rally in September, according to CNN, which was the first to report McMahon was expected to be selected for the post earlier Tuesday.
McMahon, who lives in Stamford, was rumored to be under consideration to lead the U.S. Commerce Department. Trump instead tapped investment banker Howard Lutnick to become the next Commerce secretary.
Lutnick serves with McMahon as co-chair of the president-elect’s transition team.
McMahon has been a longtime ally of Trump, serving in his Cabinet during his first administration as head of the Small Business Administration. She departed that role in 2019 to chair pro-Trump super PAC, America First Action, raising tens of millions of dollars for his 2020 reelection bid.
The World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder also serves as chair of the board for the America First Policy Institute.
The U.S. Senate will be tasked with confirming McMahon and other appointees to his Cabinet.
Republicans will retake the majority in the upper chamber next year. Trump, however, wants to use recess appointments, a procedure that would circumvent the Senate and allow him to temporarily fill vacancies, particularly for more controversial nominations that could face challenges even among his own party.
McMahon also has a history in Connecticut politics, running twice as a Republican for U.S. Senate and spending a combined $100 million of her own money between both races. She lost to Democrat Richard Blumenthal in 2010 and Democrat Chris Murphy in 2012.
Cardona, the current education secretary, is a Connecticut native from Meriden and an alumnus of Central Connecticut State University and the University of Connecticut.
He spent over 20 years as an educator in his hometown, first as an elementary school teacher then principal and assistant superintendent. Cardona went on to serve as the state’s education commissioner from 2019 through 2021 prior to his federal appointment to the Biden administration in 2020.
Cardona led the charge both in Connecticut and national efforts to reopen schools after the COVID-19 pandemic. His work on a federal level also included the restructuring of the FAFSA, the student application for federal financial aid, which drew sharp criticism for significant delays and bugs, the expansion of postsecondary education opportunities for incarcerated people and the allocation of billions of federal funding for mental health support in schools and initiatives to close the opportunity gap.
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