McMahon, a former professional wrestling executive who is co-chair of Trump's transition team, led the Small Business Administration during Trump's first term.

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he had chosen Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., to be his nominee for secretary of the Department of Education.

After news of her nomination broke, the National Education Association claimed that McMahon lied about having a degree in education when she was nominated to Connecticut’s State Board of Education. The organization cited a New York Post article from 2010, which claimed her degree was actually in French.