Trump taps woman behind ‘Hell in a Cell’ to smack down public education

Donald Trump has nominated former WWE CEO Linda McMahon, who used to put on events like “Hell in a Cell” and “Wrestlemania,” to lead the Department of Education.

In a press release Tuesday night, Trump said McMahon would lead efforts to “send Education BACK TO THE STATES,” a longtime goal of Republicans who have sought to prevent the department from achieving national education goals and priorities.

McMahon also previously served as the head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. As part of Trump’s economic team, McMahon was part of an administration that saw the worst net job loss since the data has been tracked. Small-business growth under McMahon also pales in comparison to the record under Joe Biden’s current administration, which recently hit a record of 20 million small-business applications.

McMahon follows in the tradition of Betsy DeVos, who served as education secretary in Trump’s first administration: They’re both billionaire Republican donors and not figures with serious education backgrounds. McMahon did, however, resign from a state education position after it was revealed that she falsely claimed to have a degree in education.