President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon as secretary of the Department of Education has been criticized by educators.

Critics see the nomination as the latest example of Trump choosing a loyalist to serve in his new administration, rather than someone with more relevant experience.

“By selecting Linda McMahon, Donald Trump is showing that he doesn’t care about the future of our students,” Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said in a statement. She added, “McMahon’s sole mission is to eliminate the Department of Education and take tax dollars away from public schools.”

Shaun Harper, professor of education, public policy and business at the University of Southern California, told the Los Angeles Times: “America’s schoolchildren and students deserve a Secretary of Education who brings deep educational experience to this role.

“Instead, they appointed a former director of World Wrestling Entertainment. This is shameful and a slap in the face to our country’s talented educators.”

In his announcement, Trump said McMahon would use her “decades of leadership experience and deep knowledge 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.”

McMahon has minimal experience in education. He has served a year on the Connecticut Board of Education since 2009, the Associated Press reported. She also spent years on the board of Sacred Heart University, a Catholic school in Connecticut.

Her background in business is more extensive. McMahon and her husband, Vince McMahon, founded the company now known as World Wrestling Entertainment in 1980, and she served as the company’s president and then its CEO until 2009, when she resigned to enter politics.

McMahon ran twice unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. Her husband resigned from his role as CEO of WWE amid an investigation into sex trafficking allegations, and a lawsuit filed last month accuses WWE’s founders of fostering a culture of sexual abuse within the organization.

McMahon, who headed the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term, later chaired the board of the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-affiliated think tank. She also co-chaired Trump’s transition team.

In his statement, President-elect praised McMahon’s advocacy for school choice, saying, “Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every state in America, empowering parents to make the best education decisions for their families.”

He also said she would spearhead efforts to “Send Education BACK TO THE STATES,” possibly referring to his pledge to dismantle the Department of Education.

Newsweek outside normal business hours, contact a Trump spokesperson for comment via email.

Pringle said in her response to the announcement: “During his first term, Donald Trump appointed Betsy DeVos to undermine and ultimately privatize public schools through vouchers.

“Now he and Linda McMahon are back at it with their extreme Project 2025 proposal to eliminate the Department of Education, steal resources from our most vulnerable students, increase class sizes, cut job training programs, make higher education more expensive and out of reach. to make. for middle-class families, take away special education services for students with disabilities, and jeopardize the protection of students’ civil rights.”

She added: “The Senate must stand up for our students and reject Donald Trump’s unqualified nominee, Linda McMahon. Our students and our nation deserve so much better than Betsy DeVos 2.0.”

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said that while little is known about McMahon’s positions, the union “would seek to work with anyone who puts the aspirations of our students, families and communities first .”

“While we expect to disagree with Linda McMahon on many issues, our commitment to children requires us to work together on policies that can improve the lives of students, their families, their teachers and their communities,” she said in a statement declaration.

Newsweek contacted Pringle, Harper and Weingarten for comment via email outside normal business hours.

While McMahon’s nomination was criticized by some educators, other individuals welcomed Trump’s selection as a victory for parental rights.

“Congratulations @Linda_McMahon on your appointment as Minister of Education!” Tiffany Justice, co-founder of the parenting rights group Moms for Liberty, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Let’s put parents back in the driver’s seat by supporting Linda as she works toward a future where education is parent-directed and focused on equipping students for success in the real world,” she added.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, called McMahon “a proven leader who has provided school choice to families across the country.”

He wrote of