WASHINGTON (AP) — Linda McMahon has been a constant presence in Donald Trump's tumultuous orbit, serving in his first administration and supporting his presidential campaigns. Now he's chosen her to serve as Education secretary.
Here's a look at McMahon's background, from business to politics.
McMahon is married to Vince McMahon, whose father was a prominent professional wrestling promoter. They followed him into the business, founding their own company that's now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. It became a juggernaut in the industry and American culture.
When Trump was the star of the reality show “The Apprentice,” he made an appearance at Wrestlemania in 2007. The billionaire entertainment mogul participated in an elaborately scripted feud that ended with Trump shaving off Vince McMahon's hair in the middle of the ring.
Linda McMahon stepped down from her position as WWE's chief executive to enter politics. She ran twice for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut, but lost in 2010 to Richard Blumenthal and in 2012 to Chris Murphy.
Shifting gears, she focused on providing financial support to candidates. McMahon provided $6 million to help Trump's candidacy after he secured the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
McMahon served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009. She told lawmakers at the time that she had a lifelong interest in education and once planned to become a teacher, a goal that fell aside after her marriage.
She also spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
McMahon is seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she has expressed support for charter schools and school choice.
A month after defeating Hillary Clinton, Trump chose McMahon as leader of the Small Business Administration. The agency gives loans and disaster relief to companies and entrepreneurs, and it monitors government officials' compliance with contract laws.
When McMahon was chosen, she was praised by Blumenthal and Murphy, the two Connecticut Democrats who defeated her in Senate campaigns. Blumenthal called her “a person of serious accomplishment and ability,” while Murphy said she was a “talented and experienced businessperson.”
Unlike other members of Trump's first administration, McMahon was not shadowed by scandal or controversy. She frequently promoted his trade and tax policies.
“She has been a superstar,” Trump said when she left the administration in 2019. "The fact is, I've known her for a long time. I knew she was good, but I didn't know she was that good."
McMahon didn’t leave Trump’s orbit. She chaired America First Action, a super PAC that backed Trump’s reelection campaign in 2020. He lost to Democrat Joe Biden, and McMahon helped start the America First Policy Institute to continue advocating for Trump's agenda and prepare for a potential return to the White House.
When Trump ran for president this year, McMahon was the co-chair of his transition team along with Howard Lutnick, the chief executive of financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald. As part of that role, McMahon has been helping to plan Trump's new administration.
Once he takes office, perhaps McMahon’s biggest task will be to eliminate the agency she was hired to oversee. Trump has promised to close the Education Department and return much of its powers to states. Trump has not explained how he would close the agency, which was created by Congress in 1979 and would likely require action from Congress to dismantle.
FILE - Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., March 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
President-elect Donald Trump listens with Linda McMahon during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Linda McMahon speaks during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
SEATTLE (AP) — What was expected to be one of the strongest storms in the northwest U.S. in decades arrived Tuesday evening, knocking out power and downing trees across the region.
The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks beginning Tuesday and lasting through Friday as the strongest atmospheric river — a large plume of moisture — that California and the Pacific Northwest has seen this season bears down on the region. The storm system is considered a “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.
The areas that could see particularly severe rainfall will likely reach from the south of Portland, Oregon, to the north of the San Francisco area, said Richard Bann, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center.
“Be aware of the risk of flash flooding at lower elevations and winter storms at higher elevations. This is going to be an impactful event,” he said.
Hurricane-force winds, which are gusts above 75 mph (121 kph), could be felt along the Oregon coast, according to the National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon. And near Seattle, conditions for a “mountain wave” were shaping up, bringing large, low elevation wind gusts that could cause widespread power outages and downed trees, said Larry O’Neill, director of the Oregon Climate Service and Oregon State University associate professor.
“This will be pretty strong in terms of the last 10 or 20 years,” he said. "We’ve only seen a couple storms that have really been this strong.”
More than 106,000 customers had lost power in Washington as of Tuesday evening, according to poweroutage.us. More than 11,000 had lost power in Oregon and nearly 12,000 in California.
The National Weather Service in Seattle said a peak wind speed of 68 mph (109 kph) was recorded at Crystal Mountain near Mount Rainier. A wind speed of 53 mph (82 kph) was also recorded at Ediz Hook, a 3-mile-long (4.8-kilometer) sand spit northwest of Seattle that extends from the northern shore of the Olympic Peninsula at Port Angeles into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Winds were expected to increase in western Washington throughout the evening, the weather service said.
In northern California, flood and high wind watches were in effect, with up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain predicted for parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, North Coast and Sacramento Valley.
A winter storm watch was issued for the northern Sierra Nevada above 3,500 feet (1,066 meters), where 15 inches (28 centimeters) of snow was possible over two days. Wind gusts could top 75 mph (120 kph) in mountain areas, forecasters said.
“Numerous flash floods, hazardous travel, power outages and tree damage can be expected as the storm reaches max intensity” on Wednesday, the Weather Prediction Center warned.
In Northern California’s Yolo County, crews spent Monday clearing culverts, sewers and drainage ditches to avoid clogs that could lead to street flooding. Mesena Pimentel said she hoped the efforts would prevent a repeat of floods last February that inundated her property near Woodland.
“We had about ten inches of water in our garage, had a couple gophers swimming around,” Pimentel told KCRA-TV. Woodland city officials set up two locations where residents could pick up free sandbags. Authorities urged people to stock up on food and charge phones and electronics in case power goes out and roads become unpassable.
In southwestern Oregon near the coast, 4 to 7 inches (10 to 18 centimeters) of rain was predicted — with as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) possible in some areas — through late Thursday night and early Friday morning, Bann said. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for parts of southwestern Oregon through Friday evening.
A high wind warning was issued for the north and central Oregon coast beginning at 4 p.m. Tuesday with south winds from 25 mph (40 kph) to 40 mph (64 kph), with gusts to 60 mph (97 kph) expected, according to the weather service in Portland. Gusts up to 70 mph (113 kph) on beaches and headlands were forecast. Widespread power outages were expected with winds capable of bringing down trees and power lines, the weather service said. Travel was also expected to be difficult.
Washington could also see strong rainfall, but likely not as bad as Oregon and California. From Monday evening through Tuesday, some of its coastal ranges could get as much as 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) of rain, Bann said.
The weather service warned of high winds from Tuesday afternoon until early Wednesday for coastal parts of Pacific County, in southwest Washington. With gusts potentially topping 35 mph (46 kph), trees and power lines are at risk of being knocked down, the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency warned.
A blizzard warning was issued for the majority of the Cascades in Washington, including Mount Rainier National Park, starting Tuesday afternoon, with up to a foot of snow and wind gusts up to 60 mph (97 kph), according to the weather service in Seattle. Travel across passes could be difficult if not impossible.
Tuesday evening, fallen trees blocked the a lane on Interstate 90 in Issaquah, Washington, while rough winds and seas halted a ferry route in northwestern Washington between Port Townsend and Coupeville.
Officials also urged motorists to consider delaying travel around the state until Wednesday because of high winds and heavy snow expected in the mountains.
“It will only be a winter wonderland in the sense that you’ll be wondering where the heck you are on any given patch of land,” the Washington State Department of Transportation said on social media.
Weber reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Lisa Baumann in Seattle contributed.
In this image made from video provided by National Weather Service Portland a powerful storm also called a 'bomb cyclone' rotates off the U.S. West Coast on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (National Weather Service Portland via AP)
FILE - A person walks along the beach with flooding along the boardwalk Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024 in Seal Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, file)
