Linda McMahon

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Linda McMahon
Image of Linda McMahon

Nonpartisan

U.S. Secretary of Education
Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2029

Years in position

0

Predecessor
Prior offices
Administrator of the Small Business Administration

Education

Bachelor's

East Carolina University

Personal
Profession
Ceo of World Wrestling Entertainment
Contact

Personal Twitter

Personal Instagram

Linda McMahon is the secretary of the U.S. Department of Education in President Donald Trump's (R) second term. Trump nominated McMahon on November 19, 2024.[1] The U.S. Senate voted 51-45 to confirm McMahon on March 3, 2025.[2]

In announcing McMahon as his education secretary, Trump said, "For the past four years, as the Chair of the Board at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), Linda has been a fierce advocate for Parents’ Rights, working hard at both AFPI and America First Works (AFW) to achieve Universal School Choice in 12 States, giving children the opportunity to receive an excellent Education, regardless of zip code or income.”[3][4] McMahon's stances on education included support for charter schools and apprenticeships as alternatives to college, and expanding Pell Grant eligibility for those in workforce training programs outside of traditional colleges and universities.[5][6][7]

McMahon served as the 25th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) from 2017 to 2019, during Trump's first term.[8]

McMahon was born in New Bern, North Carolina in 1948.[9] In 1969, she graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor's degree in French.[10] While growing up in New Bern, she met her future husband, Vincent K. McMahon, with whom she would co-found World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in the early 1980s.[11] Linda served as president and, later, CEO of the WWE from 1980 to 2009.[12]

McMahon served as a trustee on the board of Sacred Heart University, a private Catholic university in Connecticut, from 2004 to 2017.[13] She rejoined the board in 2021.[13] In 2009, McMahon began serving on the Connecticut state board of education. She stepped down in 2010 to run for U.S. Senate.[14]

McMahon lost in the general election to Richard Blumenthal (D) 54-44%.[15] In an interview on The View that year, McMahon said she was "more socially moderate."[16] McMahon ran again in 2012, losing in the general election to Chris Murphy (D) 55-43%. Her platform centered on a six-point program to boost economic growth that included middle-class tax cuts and workforce training and development.[17]

On April 12, 2019, McMahon stepped down from her role as the SBA administrator to chair America First Action, a PAC dedicated to supporting federal candidates who backed Trump's policy agenda.[18] McMahon joined AFPI in 2021 as chair of the board.[12] AFPI described its guiding principles as "liberty, free enterprise, national greatness, American military superiority, foreign-policy engagement in the American interest, and the primacy of American workers, families, and communities."[19]

Biography

McMahon was born in New Bern, North Carolina. She graduated from East Carolina University with a B.S. in French.[20][21] McMahon co-founded World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) with Vince McMahon, her husband in the 1980s. She worked as chief executive officer at the WWE through 2009.[22]

McMahon ran unsuccessfully as the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012. From 2017 to 2019, McMahon served as the administrator of the Small Business Administration during Donald Trump's (R) first presidential term.[22] On April 12, 2019, McMahon stepped down from her role as the SBA administrator to chair the America First Action PAC.[23]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of McMahon's academic, professional, and political career:[21]

  • 2020-2025: Chairwoman of America First Action
  • February 14, 2017-April 12, 2019: Administrator of the Small Business Administration
  • 2016: Delegate to the Republican National Convention from Connecticut and a member of the 2016 RNC Rules Committee
  • 2015 - 2017: Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Women's Leadership LIVE
  • 2012: U.S. Senate candidate from Connecticut
  • 2010: U.S. Senate candidate from Connecticut
  • 1974 - 2009: Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE)

Nomination for secretary of education

See also: Donald Trump presidential transition, 2024-2025 and Confirmation process for Linda McMahon for secretary of education
Donald Trump's Cabinet
(second term)
Candidate: Linda McMahon
Position: Secretary of Education
ApprovedaAnnounced:November 19, 2024
ApprovedaHearing:February 13, 2025
ApprovedaCommittee:Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
ApprovedaReported:Favorable (12-11)
ApprovedaConfirmed:March 3, 2025
ApprovedaVote:51-45

Donald Trump (R) announced on November 19, 2024, that he had selected McMahon as his nominee for U.S. secretary of education. In a statement, Trump said, "Linda will use her decades of Leadership experience, and deep understanding of both Education and Business, to empower the next Generation of American Students and Workers, and make America Number One in Education in the World."[24]

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held a confirmation hearing for McMahon on February 13, 2025. The Senate voted 51-45 to confirm McMahon on March 3, 2025.[2] Click here to read more about the confirmation process.

Summary of Senate vote on Linda McMahon's nomination for secretary of education (March 3, 2025)
Party Votes for Votes against Not voting
Democratic Party Democrats 0 43 2
Republican Party Republicans 51 0 2
Grey.png Independents 0 2 0
Totals 51 45 4



Nomination for administrator of the Small Business Administration

Senate vote

On February 14, 2017, the Senate voted 81-19 to confirm McMahon as administrator of the Small Business Administration.[25]

2016 Republican National Convention

See also: Republican National Convention, 2016
Linda McMahon
Republican National Convention, 2016
Status:Delegate
State:Connecticut
Bound to:Donald Trump
Delegates to the RNC 2016
Calendar and delegate rules overview • Types of delegates • Delegate rules by state • State election law and delegates • Delegates by state

McMahon was a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Connecticut. All 28 delegates from Connecticut were bound by state party rules to support Donald Trump at the convention. As of July 13, 2016, Trump had approximately 1,542 delegates. The winner of the Republican nomination needed the support of 1,237 delegates. Trump formally won the nomination on July 19, 2016.

RNC Rules Committee

See also: RNC Rules Committee, 2016

McMahon was a member of the RNC Rules Committee, a 112-member body responsible for crafting the official rules of the Republican Party, including the rules that governed the 2016 Republican National Convention.[26]

Appointment process

The convention Rules Committee in 2016 consisted of one male and one female delegate from each state and territorial delegation. The Rules of the Republican Party required each delegation to elect from its own membership representatives to serve on the Rules Committee.

Delegate rules

See also: RNC delegate guidelines from Connecticut, 2016 and Republican delegates from Connecticut, 2016

Delegates from Connecticut to the Republican National Convention were selected by the presidential candidates and approved by the state executive committee of the Connecticut Republican Party in May 2016. Delegates from Connecticut were bound to vote at the convention for the candidate to whom they were allocated based on the results of the state primary election. Delegates were allowed to vote for a different candidate after the first round of voting or if their candidate released them.

Connecticut primary results

See also: Presidential election in Connecticut, 2016
Connecticut Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
Green check mark transparent.pngDonald Trump 57.9% 123,484 28
John Kasich 28.4% 60,503 0
Ted Cruz 11.7% 24,978 0
Ben Carson 0.8% 1,731 0
Other 1.3% 2,676 0
Totals 213,372 28
Source: The New York Times and Connecticut Secretary of State

Delegate allocation

See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules
Logo-GOP.png

Connecticut had 28 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 15 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's five congressional districts). Connecticut's district delegates were allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the candidate who won a plurality of the vote in a district received all of that district's delegates. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the statewide primary vote, he or she received all of the state's district delegates.[27][28]

Of the remaining 13 delegates, 10 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 20 percent of the statewide primary vote in order to be eligible to receive any of the state's at-large delegates. If a candidate won more than 50 percent of the statewide vote, he or she received all of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.[27][28]

Elections

2012

See also: United States Senate elections in Connecticut, 2012

McMahon was a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. Senate from Connecticut. McMahon defeated Chris Shays in the Republican primary. She faced Chris Murphy (D) and Paul Passarelli (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012. She was defeated by Murphy.[29][30]

U.S. Senate, Connecticut General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngChristopher Murphy 54.8% 828,761
     Republican Linda McMahon 43.1% 651,089
     Libertarian Paul Passarelli 1.7% 25,045
     N/A Write-ins 0.5% 6,869
Total Votes 1,511,764
Source: U.S. House Clerk "2012 Election Statistics"
U.S. Senate, Connecticut Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngLinda McMahon 72.7% 83,747
Christopher Shays 27.3% 31,445
Total Votes 115,192

Polls

Christopher Murphy v. Linda McMahon
Poll Christopher S. Murphy Linda McMahonUndecided/Other candidateMargin of errorSample size
Rasmussen Reports
(October 29, 2012)
 51%45%4%
Qunnipiac University
(October 24, 2012)
 49%43%8%+/-4.5500
RealClearPolitics
(October 15-17, 2012)
 44%44%12%+/-4625
Siena Research Institute
(October 17, 2012)
 46%44%8%+/-4.2552
Rasmussen Reports
(October 9, 2012)
 51%46%3%+/-4.5500
Quinnipiac University
(August 22-26, 2012)
 49%46%4%+/-2.61,472
Rasmussen Reports
(August 21, 2012)
 46%49%6%+/-4.5500
Public Policy Polling
(July 26-29, 2012)
 50%42%8%+/-3.5771
AVERAGES 48.25% 44.88% 6.63% +/-3.48 615
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Connecticut's Republican Senate Primary Candidates
Poll Linda McMahon Chris ShaysMargin of errorSample size
Public Policy Polling
(July 26-29, 2012)
 68%20%+/-4.9771
Quinnipiac University Poll
(May 29-June 3, 2012)
 59%30%+/-2.61,408
AVERAGES 63.5% 25% +/-3.75 1,089.5
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Richard Blumenthal (D) won election to the United States Senate. He defeated McMahon (R), Warren B. Mosler (I), John Mertens (I), Brian K. Hill (I), Jeff Russel (I), Rodd Vachon (I), Jay J. Giles (I), John Traceski (I), Matthew Coleman( (I), Working Families (I), and Dave Olszta (I) in the general election.[31]

United States Senate, Connecticut General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRichard Blumenthal Incumbent 52.5% 605,204
     Republican Linda E. McMahon 43.2% 498,341
     Independent Working Families 2.7% 30,836
     Independent Warren B. Mosler 1% 11,275
     Ct. for Lieberman John Mertens 0.6% 6,735
     Independent Brian K. Hill 0% 559
     Independent Jeff Russell 0% 45
     Independent Todd Vachon 0% 45
     Independent Carl E. Vassar 0% 31
     Independent Jay J. Giles 0% 17
     Independent John Traceski 0% 15
     Independent Matthew Coleman 0% 7
     Independent Dave Olszta 0% 5
Total Votes 1,153,115

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
When she served as SBA administrator, McMahon and her husband Vince had two children, Shane and Stephanie.[20]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Linda McMahon. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Linda McMahon - Google News

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ CNN, "Trump names Linda McMahon as his pick for Education secretary," November 20, 2024
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Associated Press, “‘Senate confirms McMahon to lead Education Department as Trump pushes to shut it down" accessed March 3, 2025
  3. ↑ Reuters, "Trump taps former WWE CEO Linda McMahon as education secretary," November 19, 2024
  4. ↑ The Washington Post, "Trump taps transition co-chair Linda McMahon to be education secretary," accessed November 19, 2024
  5. ↑ Newstimes, "Linda McMahon: Today’s kids, tomorrow’s leaders," August 27, 2015
  6. ↑ X.com, "Linda McMahon X account,"November 19, 2024
  7. ↑ The Hill, "Workforce Pell Grants will create high-paying jobs for more Americans," September 11, 2024
  8. ↑ U.S. Small Business Administration, "Linda McMahon," December 3, 2024
  9. ↑ EdNC, "Who is Linda McMahon? From ECU grad to nominee for ed secretary, a look beyond the headlines," December 2, 2024
  10. ↑ New York Times, "Her Wrestling Empire Was Said to Harm Children. Trump Chose Her for Education.," November 28, 2024
  11. ↑ TJR Wrestling, "Timeline of WWE Takeover & Vince McMahon’s Ownership," September 12, 2023
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 LinkedIn, "Linda McMahon personal LinkedIn account," accessed December 3, 2024
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Sacred Heart University, "Two Former Government Officials Join Board of Trustees," October 6, 2021
  14. ↑ Governor M. Jodi Rell, "Governor Rell Names Greenwich Executive to State Board of Education," January 12, 2009
  15. ↑ New York Times, "Personal Cost for 2 Senate Bids: $100 Million," November 2, 2024
  16. ↑ YouTube, "Linda McMahon On The View," January 21, 2010
  17. ↑ Linda McMahon 2012 campaign website (archived), "Reviving the Economy: Linda's plan to put America back to work," accessed December 3, 2024
  18. ↑ Politico, "Linda McMahon to leave Cabinet for Trump 2020 PAC," March 29, 2019
  19. ↑ American First Policy Institite, "Our Mission," accessed December 3, 2024
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Sports Illustrated, "Linda McMahon on her role with WWE and Women’s Leadership LIVE," accessed March 31, 2017
  21. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Small Business Administration, "Linda McMahon," accessed December 3, 2024
  22. ↑ Politico, "Linda McMahon to leave Cabinet for Trump 2020 PAC," March 29, 2019
  23. ↑ The Washington Post, "Trump taps transition co-chair Linda McMahon to be education secretary," accessed November 19, 2024
  24. ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Nomination (Confirmation Linda E. McMahon, of Connecticut, to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration)," accessed March 31, 2017
  25. ↑ Ballotpedia's list of 2016 RNC Rules Committee members is based on an official list from the Republican National Committee obtained by Ballotpedia on June 24, 2016
  26. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
  27. ↑ 28.0 28.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
  28. ↑ Danbury Patch, "Boughton endorses McMahon for Senate," accessed January 4, 2012
  29. ↑ ABC News, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012
  30. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
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Maria Contreras-Sweet 		U.S. Small Business Administration
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