CNN
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Linda McMahon, co-chair of the Trump transition, is expected to be named secretary of the Department of Education, four sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

The decision took shape after it became clear that McMahon would be passed over as Secretary of Commerce. President-elect Donald Trump appointed his other transition co-chair Howard Lutnick to head the Commerce Department earlier Tuesday after Cantor Fitzgerald CEO threw his name into the mix for Treasury secretary, sparking a battle with hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.

McMahon served as administrator of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. She was appointed in 2017 and resigned in 2019 to become chair of America First Action, a pro-Trump super PAC.

She is chairman of the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump think tank founded in 2021 by McMahon, Larry Kudlow and other advisers from the first Trump administration.

AFPI has raised millions of dollars since its founding and has been described as a “White House in waiting,” planning potential policy proposals for Trump’s second term.

McMahon is also the former CEO of the WWE, which she co-founded with her husband, Vince McMahon. As head of the WWE, McMahon oversaw its transformation from a small wrestling entertainment company to a publicly traded media empire. She stepped down as CEO in 2009.

McMahon ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut twice, losing in 2010 and 2012. She self-financed those campaigns, spending $50.1 million in 2010 and $48.7 million in 2012, according to Open Secrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks campaign finance. Trump donated $5,000 to her campaign in 2012.

McMahon himself is a major Republican donor. According to Open Secrets, during Trump’s first campaign for president, McMahon donated more than $7 million to two pro-Trump super PACs.

This story has been updated with additional information.