Linda McMahon, co-chair of Donald Trump’s transition team, has been named as the president’s pick to be Secretary of Education in his next administration.

In a statement, Trump praised the “incredible” work that McMahon, the billionaire co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), has done as co-chair of the transition team, saying: “As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice ‘ for every state in America, and empower parents to make the best education decisions for their families. … We will send education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will lead that effort.”

McMahon was named chair of the transition team in August after donating $814,600 to Trump’s 2024 campaign as of July. She served in Trump’s Cabinet from 2017 to 2019 during his first administration as administrator of the Small Business Administration . McMahon was chairman of America First Action, a super PAC that supported Trump’s re-election campaign, where she raised $83 million in 2020. She donated $6 million to help Trump’s candidacy after he won the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, according to the Associated Press.

McMahon is the former CEO of WWE, which she co-founded with her husband, Vince McMahon.

In October, McMahon was named in a new lawsuit involving WWE. The lawsuit alleges that they and other company leaders allowed the sexual abuse of young boys by a ringside announcer, former WWE ring crew chief Melvin Phillips Jr.. The complaint specifically alleges that the McMahons were aware of the abuse and failed to stop it.

An attorney for the McMahons told USA Today Sports that the allegations are “false claims” stemming from reporting that the couple deems “absurd, defamatory and completely meritless.”

McMahon resigned from her position as CEO of WWE to enter politics. She twice ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut, but lost to Richard Blumenthal in 2010 and to Chris Murphy in 2012.

Since 2021, McMahon serves as chairman of the board of the think tank America First Policy Institute in Washington DC and chairman of the Center for the American Worker.

McMahon is considered a relative unknown in education circles, although she has expressed support for charter schools and school choice.

Beginning in 2009, she served a year on the Connecticut Board of Education. She told lawmakers at the time that she had a lifelong interest in education and once planned to become a teacher, a goal that fell by the wayside after her marriage. She also spent years on the board of directors of Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.

Trump has promised to close the Department of Education and return much of its authority to the states. He has not explained how he would close the organization, which was created by Congress in 1979 and would likely require congressional action to dismantle.

McMahon’s transition team co-chair and billionaire founder of the Cantor Fitzgerald financial firm, Howard Lutnick, was named as Trump’s pick for commerce secretary.