Trump picks pro wrestling mogul McMahon for administration role

by Ben Kamisar - 12/07/16 4:23 PM ET

President-elect Donald Trump has selected professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to lead the Small Business Administration.

{mosads}McMahon has long been floated as a potential administration appointee due to her ties to GOP causes and Trump personally, as well as the president-elect’s history of appearances at WWE pro wrestling events.

Trump lauded McMahon in a statement announcing the decision, praising her as “one of the country’s top female executives” who helped the WWE become a “global enterprise.”

“Our small businesses are the largest source of job creation in our country,” McMahon added in a statement.

“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, who lives in Connecticut, is a veteran of the state’s board of education. She also ran for Senate as a Republican in the state twice, losing to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D) in 2010 and Sen. Chris Murphy (D) in 2012.

She has donated millions of dollars to Republican candidates, causes and her own campaigns — including a $6 million donation to a pro-Trump super PAC. And as The Washington Post’s David Farenthold pointed out on Twitter, she and her husband were the largest outside donors to Trump’s personal charity.

And she has embraced her role as a female entrepreneur with her new advocacy group Women’s Leadership Live, which helps women in business.

The Small Business administrator, in charge of the agency that helps to shepherd federal contracts and capital to small businesses, is a Cabinet-level position that requires Senate confirmation. So it’s possible that some of the WWE controversies, including its issues with steroids and athlete health, as well as its sometimes-violent and sexual storylines, could come up during those hearings.

Tags Chris Murphy Donald Trump Richard Blumenthal