Political career
Connecticut Board of Education
McMahon was appointed to the Connecticut State Board of Education by Governor Jodi Rell in January 2009.[62][81]
She went through a confirmation process in the Connecticut State Assembly where she was questioned on her record as CEO of WWE.[69] The State Senate approved her nomination by a vote of 34–1 and the House by 96–45 with some opponents expressing concerns that the nature of her WWE activities would send the wrong message. State representative Bruce Morris claimed she lacked “depth of knowledge regarding education”. However, state representative John Hetherington said it “would be good to have someone outside the establishment on the board”.[82][83]
On April 1, 2010, McMahon resigned from the State Board of Education, because state law does not allow board members to solicit campaign contributions.[84] Days after her resignation, the Hartford Courant reported that McMahon had falsely filled out a questionnaire from the governor’s office on which she claimed to have received a bachelor’s degree in education from East Carolina University in 1969; her degree was actually in French. At the time, she claimed she thought her degree was in education because she had completed a semester of student teaching.[85]
Political contributions
Following her election defeats, McMahon committed herself to becoming a major Republican fundraiser and donor. She donated to groups such as American Crossroads and Ending Spending Fund, and associated with fellow mega donor Paul Singer.[103]
As the 2016 Republican nomination process began to gear up in early 2015, McMahon, Singer, and Charles R. Schwab were among donors and prospective-candidate representatives who attended a daylong meeting near Jackson, Wyoming, that was hosted by TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and his son Todd, and featured “several Republican donors who favor[ed] same-sex marriage and immigration reform“.[104]
After Donald Trump made an appearance at WrestleMania 23 in 2007, the McMahons donated $5 million to the Donald J. Trump Foundation in addition to the payment for the appearance.[105] In 2016, McMahon donated $6 million to Rebuilding America Now, a Super PAC with the purpose of electing Donald Trump as US president, and in 2015 and 2016 combined, $1.2 million to Future 45, a Super PAC which funded anti-Bernie Sanders advertisements.[106][107]
On March 29, 2019, McMahon announced her resignation as administrator of the SBA to chair America First Action, a pro-Trump Super PAC.[119][120][121] The resignation took effect on April 12, 2019.[122]
Campaign finance and second Trump transition
America First Action, a pro-Trump Super PAC chaired by McMahon, helped raise $83 million for Trump’s reelection campaign in 2020.[123] McMahon also serves as chair of the board for the America First Policy Institute, along with Vice Chair Larry Kudlow, former director of the National Economic Council under Trump and Fox Business host.[124] McMahon went on to join Howard Lutnick as co-chair of Trump’s second transition team.[125]
Secretary of Education nomination
As part of her role in the transition team, Trump would nominate her to head the Department of Education within his second administration on November 19, 2024.[126][127] Trump previously claimed the department had been infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists” during his campaign.[128] Her nomination was criticized by professionals in the field of education, including by National Education Association president Rebecca S. Pringle, who cited Trump’s and her own position in support of eliminating the very department she’d be leading, as well as McMahon lacking strong qualifications more generally.[129][130]
Regarding her views on education, McMahon has expressed support for school choice and charter schools in the United States.[131]
McMahon also sat on the Connecticut Board of Education for one year starting in 2009.
She told lawmakers at the time that she had a lifelong interest in education and once planned to become a teacher.[135]
However, she filled out a vetting questionnaire for the board position stating that she had a degree in education from East Carolina University in 1969, when her degree was actually in French.[136] According to a 2010 article in the Harford Courant:[137]
McMahon’s resignation from the board Thursday came a day after The Courant indicated it would be writing about her questionnaire answers, but she said one had nothing to do with the other.
In late November 2024, The New York Times carried an article bearing the headline, Her Wrestling Empire Was Said to Harm Children. Trump Chose Her for Education, and the subheading, “Linda McMahon, whose résumé mainly rests on running World Wrestling Entertainment, has faced questions for years over whether she is suitable for important education posts.” In it Andrew Fleischmann, then-chairperson for the House Education Committee of Connecticut’s House of Representatives which dealt in 2009 with the proposed appointment of McMahon to the State Board of Education, was quoted as stating in 2024:[138]
She had no involvement whatsoever in education… She’s made tens or hundreds of millions of dollars pushing violence and sexualization of young women. She was a real force for doing ill to kids in our country.