President-elect Trump is expected to choose Linda McMahon to serve as secretary of the Department of Education in his new Cabinet.
Two sources familiar with the situation confirmed the pick to Fox News on Tuesday evening.
McMahon, who served as administrator of the Small Business Administration in the first Trump administration, is the wife of Vince McMahon. The couple both co-founded World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 1980.
McMahon served in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. When she resigned, she wrote that the role had been “immensely rewarding.”
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Trump is expected to pick Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education. (Reuters)
“While it has truly been the honor of a lifetime to serve our country in this Administration, it is time for me to step down and return to the private sector,” McMahon wrote in 2019. “I wish to thank the President and I will continue to be a strong advocate for him and his policies.”
Trump has previously floated the idea of disbanding the Department of Education, which began operating in 1980. The agency’s website says that its mission is to “promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access for students of all ages.”
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President Trump shakes hands with Linda McMahon, the outgoing administrator of the Small Business Administration, in Palm Beach, Fla., March 29, 2019. ( Reuters/Joshua Roberts)
Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told Fox News host Martha MacCallum last week that the department “doesn’t really add any value anywhere.”
DeVos advised that the opportunity for Trump to radically change the department is “wide open.”
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Linda McMahon, former administrator of Small Business Administration, speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, July 18. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
“Take the power away from the Department of Education, block-grant those funds, continue to invest in education, but get it down to a much more local level where better decisions are made on behalf of students,” DeVos said. “The bureaucrats at the Department of Education aren’t doing the job. They haven’t done the job for more than four decades to close the achievement gaps — they’ve only widened.”
Fox News Digital’s Joshua Comins contributed to this report.