Linda McMahon: A Pioneer's Path to the Department of Education
Linda Marie McMahon, an American administrator, a business executive and former professional wrestling executive, assumed the role of the 13th United States Secretary of Education. Her journey to this position is marked by a diverse range of experiences, from building a global entertainment empire to serving in the federal government. This article explores McMahon's background, her policy positions, and the potential impact of her leadership on the Department of Education.
From WWE Executive to Public Servant
McMahon's career began in the 1970s when she and her husband invested in a construction company. After that venture ended in bankruptcy, they took over a company that would become the multi-billion-dollar business now known as WWE. As the president and later chief executive officer of WWE from 1980 to 2009, McMahon oversaw the company's growth from a regional business to a large multinational corporation. During this time, she initiated the company's civic programs, Get R.E.A.L. and SmackDown! Your Vote. She made occasional on-screen performances, most notably in a feud with her husband that culminated at WrestleMania X-Seven.
McMahon's experience in the business world is vast. "My husband and I built our business from scratch," McMahon said at her SBA confirmation hearing in 2017. Journalist Dave Meltzer, who has spent decades reporting on the wrestling industry, says Linda McMahon had little to do with the creative, public-facing side of WWE. Instead, he says McMahon was responsible for running business operations behind-the-scenes.
Under the McMahons' leadership, WWE gained international renown, but also faced a series of scandals, including around steroid abuse and alleged sexual abuse of minors who worked for their organization.
In 2009, McMahon left WWE to run for a seat in the United States Senate from Connecticut as a Republican, but lost to Democrat Richard Blumenthal in the 2010 Senate election. On December 7, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination of McMahon to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) for the first Trump administration. Senate on February 14, 2017, by a vote of 81-19 and sworn in as the 25th administrator of the SBA.
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Policy Positions and Priorities
Up until recently, not much was known about McMahon's policy positions on education. But in January, AFPI shared more about where she stands: McMahon supports "parental rights in education," the expansion of school choice beyond district boundaries, career and technical education programs, and prioritizing "evidence-based learning" in core subjects like math and reading.
A Unique Perspective on Education
Unlike many previous secretaries of education, McMahon does not come from a traditional education background. Her limited education experience includes her appointment to the Connecticut State Board of Education in 2009, where she served for about a year.
Andy Fleischmann, a former chair of the Connecticut General Assembly's Education Committee, served in the state's legislature at the same time McMahon was appointed to the board. He says her appointment and confirmation process elicited discord between legislators. Janet Finneran also remembers opposition and debate surrounding McMahon's appointment. Finneran was vice chair of the state board of education during the year McMahon served. She says any concerns about McMahon's qualifications were quelled once she began serving on the board. "She always exhibited a tremendous amount of professionalism," says Finneran. She says she was impressed with McMahon's "knowledge of the material and…discussion of the material."
Fleischmann worries McMahon's nomination may not be getting the same level of scrutiny as other cabinet nominees. "The fact that it kind of slips into the background because there's so many other controversies is, to me, really troubling and scary," says Fleischmann.
Despite her non-traditional background, some argue that McMahon's experience as a business executive and in the federal government has prepared her well for the top education job in the country. "The Department of Education is not a school," says Margaret Spellings, who served as education secretary under President George W. Bush. "It's a bank. It's an advocate. It's a relationship partner with states, localities, the Congress."
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Leading the Small Business Administration
Before becoming secretary of education, it was not her first time working for the federal government. During his first presidency, Donald Trump tapped McMahon to lead the Small Business Administration, the agency tasked with supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Barb Carson first joined the SBA during the Obama administration, and worked closely with McMahon over the two years she spent leading the agency. Sen. McMahon set a tone of high expectations from the beginning, Carson recalls. "She said clearly and explicitly that she trusted us until we lost that trust and that we'd have a hard time getting it back."
Belur says while McMahon didn't work directly in education, she did help expand the reach of an existing brick-and-mortar education program for women entrepreneurs by helping to take it online. Both Carson and Belur praise McMahon's ability to listen and learn from subject-matter experts-a skill they believe will serve her well at the Education Department.
In an interview with CNBC, McMahon stated that in her role as administrator of SBA she was "[l]earning how to develop business plans, how to grow, how to pitch [one's] business when [one is] trying to get investors, or to move into a different market and those are aspects of SBA that are not as well known",[122] as the main goals of the SBA were capital, counseling, contracts and disaster relief. She also stated that the goals were being challenged, as the agency faced a five percent budget cut and future restructuring.
Challenges and Opportunities at the Department of Education
McMahon would also inherit an agency that has struggled, under Secretary Miguel Cardona, to launch big initiatives (from broad-based student loan forgiveness to the revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA) in the face of flat-funding from Congress.
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The Trump administration has put dozens of department employees on paid administrative leave. The White House has also confirmed plans to shrink, and potentially dismantle the agency.
"Every secretary has the latitude to … add, subtract, to edit and put their mark on the department, and I know she will," says Margaret Spellings.
"And I just hope and pray that's not [McMahon's] motivation." The agency has a long list of congressionally-mandated responsibilities, including supporting schools in low-income communities (Title I), English language learners (Title III), students with disabilities (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act), and helping low-income undergraduates pay for college through Pell Grants.
"I'm not hearing anyone say, 'We need to abolish Title I, we need to get rid of Pell Grants.' So it's a matter of who is best to manage those programs. Where should they live? How can they be most accountable to the taxpayers and citizens and students, in this case, of our country? And I think that's a worthy discussion."
But Duncan worries shrinking the department could mean losing a wealth of knowledge from career staffers. "Their advice, their guidance was just extraordinarily helpful," he says. "The execution, the implementation of ideas, you sort of can't do it without the career staff."
In her opening statement, Linda McMahon pledged to advance President Trump’s vision for education reform. She discussed concerns about declining student achievement, campus safety, and ideological influences in schools. McMahon advocated for expanded school choice, stronger parental rights, and reducing federal control over education. She emphasized the need for career-focused learning, transparency in higher education costs, and investment in STEM fields.
A Vision for American Education
Following her nomination, McMahon released a statement titled “Our Department’s Final Mission” outlining her vision for American education.
Department of Education and those who work here. But more importantly, I took responsibility for supporting over 100 million American children and college students who are counting on their education to create opportunity and prepare them for a rewarding career. I want to do right by both. As you are all aware, President Trump nominated me to take the lead on one of his most momentous campaign promises to families. My vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children. As a mother and grandmother, I know there is nobody more qualified than a parent to make educational decisions for their children. I also started my career studying to be a teacher, and as a Connecticut Board of Education member and college trustee, I have long held that teaching is the most noble of professions. As a businesswoman, I know the power of education to prepare workers for fulfilling careers. American education can be the greatest in the world. It ought not to be corrupted by political ideologies, special interests, and unjust discrimination. Parents, teachers, and students alike deserve better. After President Trump’s inauguration last month, he steadily signed a slate of executive orders to keep his promises: combatting critical race theory, DEI, gender ideology, discrimination in admissions, promoting school choice for every child, and restoring patriotic education and civics. He has also been focused on eliminating waste, red tape, and harmful programs in the federal government. The Department of Education’s role in this new era of accountability is to restore the rightful role of state oversight in education and to end the overreach from Washington. This restoration will profoundly impact staff, budgets, and agency operations here at the Department. In coming months, we will partner with Congress and other federal agencies to determine the best path forward to fulfill the expectations of the President and the American people. We will eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy so that our colleges, K-12 schools, students, and teachers can innovate and thrive.
This review of our programs is long overdue. The Department of Education is not working as intended. Since its establishment in 1980, taxpayers have entrusted the department with over $1 trillion, yet student outcomes have consistently languished. Millions of young Americans are trapped in failing schools, subjected to radical anti-American ideology, or saddled with college debt for a degree that has not provided a meaningful return on their investment. Teachers are leaving the profession in droves after just a few years-and citing red tape as one of their primary reasons. The reality of our education system is stark, and the American people have elected President Trump to make significant changes in Washington. Our job is to respect the will of the American people and the President they elected, who has tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education-a momentous final mission-quickly and responsibly. As I’ve learned many times throughout my career, disruption leads to innovation and gets results. We must start thinking about our final mission at the department as an overhaul-a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great. Changing the status quo can be daunting. But every staff member of this Department should be enthusiastic about any change that will benefit students. True change does not happen overnight-especially the historic overhaul of a federal agency. Removing red tape and bureaucratic barriers will empower parents to make the best educational choices for their children. An effective transfer of educational oversight to the states will mean more autonomy for local communities. Teachers, too, will benefit from less micromanagement in the classroom-enabling them to get back to basics. I hope each of you will embrace this vision going forward and use these convictions as a guide for conscientious and pragmatic action. The elimination of bureaucracy should free us, not limit us, in our pursuit of these goals. I want to invite all employees to join us in this historic final mission on behalf of all students, with the same dedication and excellence that you have brought to your careers as public servants. This is our opportunity to perform one final, unforgettable public service to future generations of students.
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