President-elect Donald Trump will nominate former WWE executive Linda McMahon as administrator of the Small Business Administration, his transition team announced Wednesday.
McMahon’s selection for the cabinet-level position aligns with Trump’s “America First” agenda to “bring back our jobs and roll back the burdensome regulations that are hurting our middle class workers and small businesses,” the president-elect said in a statement.
He continued: “Linda has a tremendous background and is widely recognized as one of the country’s top female executives advising businesses around the globe. She helped grow WWE from a modest 13-person operation to a publicly traded global enterprise with more than 800 employees in offices worldwide. Linda is going to be a phenomenal leader and champion for small businesses and unleash America’s entrepreneurial spirit all across the country.”
McMahon helped grow and run the WWF/WWE from 1980 to 2009. She left the wrestling organization in 2009 in order to run for the Senate in Connecticut, but lost to Democrat Richard Blumenthal. She ran again in 2012 and lost to Democrat Chris Murphy.
“Our small businesses are the largest source of job creation in our country,” McMahon said in a statement regarding her new position. “I am honored to join the incredibly impressive economic team that President-elect Trump has assembled to ensure that we promote our country’s small businesses and help them grow and thrive.”
McMahon was also an early supporter of Trump and has donated to various Super PACs in support of his election.