Trump Nominates Linda McMahon for Education Secretary
US Pres.-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Linda McMahon, who co-founded World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) with her husband Vince McMahon, to head up his Department of Education....
Facts
- US Pres.-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Linda McMahon, who co-founded World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) with her husband Vince McMahon, to head up his Department of Education.[1][2]
- McMahon, 76, led the Small Business Administration during Trump's first term and then became the chair of the pro-school-choice America First Policy Institute. She previously served on the Connecticut State Board of Education for about a year.[3][4]
- She reportedly donated over $7M to two Trump political action committees in 2016 and $10M to one this year, and reportedly shaped Trump's policy proposals regarding limiting federal influence in education.[5][6]
- McMahon, who has also spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, will be in charge of overseeing the Department's $1.6T federal student loan portfolio.[7][8]
- Trump has repeatedly called for abolishing the Department and giving its power to the states, which would require an act of Congress. He's also proposed stripping federal funding from universities that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.[9][3]
- This comes as McMahon, her husband, and other WWE executives face a lawsuit alleging they knowingly allowed the sexual abuse of young boys. An attorney for the McMahons called the accusations 'absurd, defamatory and utterly meritless.'[10]
Sources: [1]BBC News, [2]FOX News, [3]New York Post, [4]NPR Online News, [5]New York Times, [6]Daily Wire, [7]CNN (a), [8]Breitbart, [9]CNN (b) and [10]Guardian.
Narratives
- Republican narrative, as provided by PJ Media. McMahon is a great choice because she'll finally take on the corrupt teachers' unions and disrupt the Democratic establishment's loyalty to groups whose interests prioritize bureaucracy over children. Democrats have allowed schools to fail as an excuse to ask for more money, but McMahon will dismantle inefficiencies in the Department and advance brighter futures.
- Democratic narrative, as provided by Rolling Stone and Newsweek. McMahon is an atrocious choice to be in charge of DOE, especially since she's currently being sued for turning a blind eye to sexual abuse at WWE. Despite that, Trump is willing to destroy the DOE — and the special education funding that comes with it — because the McMahons donated to his campaign and are influenced by conservative think tanks.
