Trump Picks Linda McMahon, Named in ‘Ring Boy’ Sex Abuse Case, to Run Education Department
President-elect Donald Trump nominated his transition co-chair Linda McMahon to serve as secretary of the Department of Education.
McMahon, a major Republican donor and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), headed the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. After donating a reported $814,600 to Trump’s campaign as of July, McMahon was made transition team chair in August.
“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. We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.
The news arrives amid a lawsuit filed against Linda and her husband, Vince McMahon. The couple co-founded WWE and were named in a civil suit filed in October by five anonymous plaintiffs who worked as “ring boys” for the company as young teenagers in the Eighties. The plaintiffs alleged that they were groomed and sexually abused by ring crew boss Mel Phillips on the company’s watch.
As CEO, Linda spearheaded WWE’s transformation from a small wrestling entertainment company into a publicly traded media empire. She stepped down as CEO in 2009.
Vince McMahon is facing separate allegations of sexual abuse and trafficking. In January, Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against Vince, WWE head of talent relations John Laurinaitis, and the wrestling company outlining years of alleged sexual assaults. In May, Grant’s attorney said she agreed to pause her case pending a federal investigation.
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