Trump picks WWE co-founder Linda McMahon for Small Business Administration

David Jackson , USA TODAY
5:08 p.m. EST December 7, 2016


(Photo: Albin Lohr-Jones / POOL, EPA)


President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he will nominate Linda McMahon — co-founder of World Wrestling Foundation — to be the leader of his Small Business Administration.

"My America First agenda is going to bring back our jobs and roll back the burdensome regulations that are hurting our middle class workers and small businesses," Trump said in announcing McMahon's nomination.

Touting her experience in the pro wrestling business, Trump said that McMahon "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."

Accepting the nomination, McMahon said that "small businesses are the largest source of job creation in our country,” and "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 ran unsuccessfully for the Senate from Connecticut in 2010 and 2012, was an early supporter of Trump's presidential bid. She founded the WWE with her husband, Vince McMahon, to whom she's been married for 50 years.

McMahon has emerged as a big financial benefactor of Republicans in recent elections, including Trump. She donated a total of $6 million to a pro-Trump super PAC, Federal Election Commission records show.

Trump has appeared on wrestling shows and is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...ment/95109918/