Linda McMahon to face Senate confirmation hearing as DOGE proposes Education Department cuts

 Trump has expressed his hope that the former WWE leader will "eliminate her own position" if confirmed as education secretary.

Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump's choice for education secretary, will face a Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday.

Feb. 13, 2025, 4:00 PM GMT+6

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Linda McMahon is set to appear before a Senate committee on Thursday for her confirmation hearing as education secretary, even as President Donald Trump continues to publicly suggest dismantling the very department she hopes to lead.

McMahon, 76, is the former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the company founded by her husband, Vince McMahon, a close Trump ally. She previously served as head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term and later led several pro-Trump political organizations.

The Education Department has recently come under scrutiny from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which claims to have canceled $881 million in contracts, though the administration has not disclosed details. Additionally, some of Musk’s aides have reportedly gained access to Education Department systems and administrator email accounts—an unusual development, according to longtime employees.

Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee are expected to focus on McMahon’s education policies rather than controversies from her WWE tenure. Ranking member Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has indicated he will question her stance on privatizing public education, teacher pay raises, and funding for low-income school districts.

McMahon is seeking a Cabinet position after four years as chair of the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-aligned think tank advocating for school choice, reducing teachers union influence, and expanding technical career training. Several early appointees to the Education Department have ties to the institute.

It remains unclear whether McMahon supports eliminating the department, a longstanding goal among some Republicans. Trump recently told reporters he believes the department is “a complete con job” and has suggested McMahon could “put herself out of a job.” NBC News has reported that Trump is preparing an executive order to abolish the department, though he lacks the authority to do so without congressional approval.

McMahon left WWE in 2009 and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012. She was recently named as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging WWE covered up sexual abuse against boys working on ring crews during her tenure. The case is currently on hold, and the McMahons deny the allegations.

Since leaving WWE, McMahon has also faced criticism over the company’s handling of steroid use and the explicit content of its storylines in the 1990s.

Beyond her work with the America First Policy Institute, McMahon serves on the boards of Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, the political advocacy group America First Works, the conservative media group The Daily Caller News Foundation, and Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social. According to a financial disclosure she filed in December, she earned $55,200 from Trump Media & Technology Group last year and has pledged to divest from the company if confirmed.