School choice advocates praise Trump’s education pick

President-elect Donald Trump has named Linda McMahon to lead the U.S. Department of Education, and school choice advocates were quick to praise the pick.

McMahon, who served as administrator of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first administration, is a major backer of expanding school choice.

House Speaker Mike Johnson backed McMahon after news broke of her appointment and pointed out that McMahon is committed to “expanding school choice”

Notably, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who sits on a key education committee, praised McMahon’s focus on “parental choice,” a good sign for her Senate confirmation.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called McMahon “a proven leader who has delivered school choice for families across the nation” who will “empower parents with education freedom” and “send education back to the states so that every child can thrive.”

Trump echoed that plan to return education to the states in his announcement, a salient point since Trump has pledged to eliminate the Department of Education, though he would likely need Congressional approval to fully eliminate the department.

“As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families,” Trump said in a statement. 

McMahon’s nomination was heralded by school choice advocates. Corey DeAngelis, a self-proclaimed “school choice evangelist,” heralded McMahon for her support for “education freedom.”

Carrier Sheffield, senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Voice, echoed that sentiment.

“Wishing you great results as you lead fights to expand school choice, stop partisan indoctrination & return education to the states!” she wrote on X.

Since leaving the Trump administration, Linda McMahon has worked on parental rights issues at the America First Policy Institute, a legal group and think tank for Trump loyalists. McMahon focused on expanding school choice during her time there.

“Linda will use her decades of Leadership experience, and deep understanding of both Education and Business, to empower the next Generation of American Students and Workers, and make America Number One in Education in the World,” Trump said in a statement. “We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”

She and her husband, Vince Mcmahon, previously owned the WWE wrestling company.

McMahon has experience on the Connecticut State Boards of Education and served as a member of the Board of Trustees at Sacred Heart University.

Trump and his allies have promised to eliminate the Department of Education and return the issue to the states and thus eliminate the controversial federal DEI and LGBT policies pushed on schools from the federal government.

For example, the Biden administration threatened to remove school funding for districts that did not toe the line on transgender locker rooms and other LGBT issues.

McMahon is Trump’s latest in now daily picks to fill out his administration, though Senate confirmation is still needed.

• Trump’s picks to fill out his cabinet so far include:
• Linda McMahon as Secretary for the Department of Education.
• Matthew Whitaker as ambassador to NATO.
• Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
• Howard Lutnick as Secretary of Commerce.
• Sean Duffy to lead the Department of Transportation.
• Chris Wright for Department of Energy Secretary.
• Brendan Carr to lead the Federal Communications Commission.
• North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Interior.
• William Owen Scharf as Assistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary.
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of U.S. Health and Human Services
• Former Congresswoman and veteran Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence.
• Former Congressman Doug Collins as Secretary of Veterans Affairs
• Jay Clayton as Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Former congressman Matt Gaetz for Attorney General.
• Veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.
• Veteran and former New York congressman Lee Zeldin as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
• U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as Secretary of State.
• Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan as “border czar.”
• Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
• Former Congresswoman and current governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
• Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the “Department of Government Efficiency.
• William Joseph McGinley as White House Counsel.
• Steven C. Witkoff as Special Envoy to the Middle East.
• Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla. as national security advisor.
• Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel.
• Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. as ambassador to the U.N.
• Dean John Sauer as Solicitor General.
• Todd Blanche as Deputy Attorney General.
• Emil Bove as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General.
• Dan Scavino of the Trump campaign as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff.
• Susie Wiles, co-chair of the Trump campaign, as White House Chief of Staff.
• Stephen Miller as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor.
• James Blair of the Trump campaign as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Political and Public Affairs.
• Taylor Budowich of the Trump campaign as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Personnel.