There are several videos floating around X this week highlighting Linda McMahon taking and giving a few staged blows as then-World Wrestling Entertainment’s CEO under headings such as: “Behold, the new Education Secretary.”
If their aim was to embarrass McMahon, they missed the mark.
Her toughness, conservative commentators say, is exactly what is needed to reform the bloated and misguided U.S. Department of Education under President-elect Donald Trump’s directive to, if not dismantle it, then to diminish the federal power and disperse its authority to the states.
“Vanquishing Washington’s bloated education bureaucracy will be a knock-down drag-out fight that Ms. McMahon may be well-suited for,” wrote The Wall Street Journal editorial board, noting hers is “a job that will require brawling with an oversized bureaucracy, teachers unions and other special interest heavyweights.”
“The Biden Administration has effectively turned the Education Department into an arm of the teachers unions and cultural left. Ms. McMahon’s top priorities will be ending student loan write-offs, rolling back the department’s Title IX regulation, devolving school control to the states and promoting alternative education pathways,” the board wrote Nov. 21.
The center-right National Association of Scholars published a statement Nov. 20 commending the selection and urging the Senate to confirm her, praising McMahon’s longtime ardent support for school choice.
“The system of free choice in higher education, however, has allowed a small number of truly excellent colleges to flourish. Likewise school choice applied to K-12 education will allow more and more high quality alternatives to establish themselves,” continued the statement, penned by NAS President Peter Wood.
“Secretary McMahon will face the challenge of helping these high quality alternative schools and colleges thrive in the face of fierce resistance by the educational establishment,” Wood wrote. “She is up to that challenge as shown by her personal and professional history as an advocate of ideas opposed by entrenched bureaucracies.”
McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. She has also served on the Connecticut state Board of Education and on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
McMahon, in a post on X, said she is “hopeful of Senate confirmation” and “deeply honored and humbled for this opportunity.”
“I am committed to working tirelessly to ensure every student has access to a quality education. …I look forward to working collaboratively with students – educators – parents and communities to strengthen our educational system; ensuring every child regardless of their demographics is prepared for a bright future.”
Former education secretary during Trump’s first term, Betsy DeVos, praised the selection.
“Very excited for my friend @Linda_McMahon! She has a heart for kids and is a proven executive. I know she’s ready to go to work to expand education freedom, restore Title IX and protect women, fix the mess on college campuses, return power to states and families, and, most importantly, PUT STUDENTS FIRST,” DeVos posted.
Very excited for my friend @Linda_McMahon! She has a heart for kids and is a proven executive. I know she’s ready to go to work to expand education freedom, restore Title IX and protect women, fix the mess on college campuses, return power to states and families, and, most… https://t.co/9DhnJqojqc
— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVos) November 21, 2024
The Defense of Freedom Institute co-founders Bob Eitel and Jim Blew co-authored a statement praising McMahon.
“The incoming secretary’s fresh approach to leadership, as well as her service as a university trustee and state board of education member, make her the perfect choice to restore parental and local control over education,” they wrote.
MORE: Trump taps Linda McMahon for education secretary
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