After the billionaire Elon Musk in the department of “governmental efficiency”, or the vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr, appointed Secretary of Health, the recently elected American President Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on January 20, 2025, continues the sometimes surprising appointments with a view to forming a government. On Tuesday, November 19, he announced that he had chosen Linda McMahon to head the Ministry of Education – a federal institution that the president-elect promised to undermine, against a backdrop of strong divisions in the United States between progressives and conservatives. .
Linda McMahon’s profile has attracted a lot of attention: she is in fact the former boss of the WWE wrestling federation. Married to Vince McMahon, the heir to WWE, she became president in 1993 and general manager in 1997, before resigning in 2009 to try her luck in politics. Her husband remained at the head of the company until last January, finally being forced to resign after a former employee filed a complaint against him for sexual assault.
A 76-year-old businesswoman, Linda McMahon was between 2017 and 2019 minister responsible for small businesses during the Republican’s first term. She is part of his bodyguard, being one of the co-leaders, with billionaire Howard Lutnick, of the power transition team. He was named Commerce Secretary on Monday.
A “friend” of Donald Trump
“In Linda McMahon, 76, Donald Trump has nominated someone well outside the mold of traditional candidates for this position, a leader with no training as a teacher or professional experience in the conduct of education policy, other than an appointment in 2009 to the Connecticut State Board of Education, where she served for a little over a year”, analyzes the progressive daily New York Times.
Not hesitating to speak of Donald Trump as “a friend”, Linda McMahon is a major donor to the Republican Party, providing financial support to the real estate mogul’s candidacy in 2016, first for his primary and then in the race for the White House. “In recent years, she chaired the board of directors of the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank that sought to lay the groundwork for a second term for Donald Trump,” the conservative newspaper further specifies. Washington Post.
Divisions around education
“Linda McMahon will likely be entrusted with the difficult task of carrying out what is widely seen as a complete and determined dismantling of the department’s essential functions,” continues the New York daily. The subject of education particularly divides American states between those led by Democrats and those held by the most conservatives, the latter fiercely opposing issues related to the rights of women, minorities or even LGBT + communities.
“We will BRING EDUCATION BACK TO THE STATES and Linda will spearhead this effort,” Donald Trump promised. “As Minister of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly” to bring more educational freedom to every American state and “empower parents to make the best education decisions for their families,” Donald Trump said in a statement. Less than an hour after the announcement, the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers union, called on the Senate to reject his confirmation.