Recently chosen by incoming President Donald Trump, multi-billionaire and professional wrestling advocate, Linda McMahon has been nominated as the secretary of the Education Department, an agency which Trump aims to disassemble. Trump’s cabinet selections also included the former controversial TV talk show host and heart surgeon, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who will head the agency accountable for the health insurance plans for countless poor, disabled, and elderly Americans. In addition, Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick has been tapped to spearhead the Commerce Department. McMahon, whose political endeavors include unsuccessful runs for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut, led the Small Business Administration amid Trump’s commencement term from 2017 to 2019.
Having served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year from 2009 and spending considerable time on the trustee board for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, McMahon has indirectly related experience in education. Despite her relative anonymity in education circles, she’s expressed enthusiasm for charter schools and school choice. Trump showered McMahon with idealistic praise, surprisingly asserting, ‘Linda will harness her decades of leadership experience and deep understanding of Education and Business, to uplift the next generation of American students and workers, with the lofty goal to make America the best in education across the globe.’ It seems excessively ambitious, coming from an individual known more for her wrestling enterprise than for her knowledge of the education sector.
As the chairwoman of the pro-Trump America First Action SuperPAC, McMahon’s loyalty to the Trump administration seems to be a main attraction. No stranger to controversy, her husband, Vince McMahon, stepped down as the boss of World Wrestling Entertainment in 2022 as a company investigation was launched into serious allegations revolving around sexual battery and trafficking. Yet, Trump handpicks her to oversee an agency he plans to demolish, while relative outsiders like McMahon will lead efforts to realign America’s educational institutions with Trump’s convoluted vision of education.
Trump, as part of his contentious policies, has committed to targeting what he perceives as ‘left-wing indoctrination’ in American schools. He’s vowed to discontinue federal funding for any educational institution promoting what he labels as ‘Critical Race Theory, transgender madness, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content.’ His resentment extends to diversity initiatives in universities as well. Trump is steadfast in his ambition to launch civil rights investigations and impose fines on colleges, up to the full amount of their endowment. These sweeping goals raise valid questions about the independence and inclusivity of educational institutions under his administration.
Another story is the selection of the former unsuccessful 2022 U.S. Senate candidate, Dr. Oz, who enthusiastically rallies behind Trump. He recently endorsed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for the nation’s top health agency, the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump optimistically conveyed his expectations by stating, ‘Dr. Oz will pioneer in incentivising Disease Prevention, aiming for the best outcomes globally for every dollar spent on Healthcare in our Great country.’ Although Dr. Oz’s long-running TV show has been a platform for many dubious health claims, he will also be tasked with cutting waste and fraud within the country’s most exorbitantly expensive Government Agency.
As the potential administer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Oz, if confirmed by the Senate, would be supervising programs – Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act – that more than half the nation depends on for health insurance. Medicaid provides near free health care coverage to scores of the poorest Americans whereas Medicare ensures older and disabled Americans have access to health insurance. Lastly, the Affordable Care Act, an initiative from the Obama-era, offers health insurance plans to millions of Americans disqualified from government-assisted health insurance or without employer-provided coverage.
Trump seeks to recklessly dismantle the Affordable Care Act but has been amorphously vague about a replacement plan, describing it as mere ‘concept of a plan.’ His first attempt in the office to scrap the program altogether was unsuccessful. Recently, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson pledged health care reform would be a central part of Trump’s second tenure, a promise as vague as Trump’s own proposals on the topic.
During his unsuccessful bid for the senate, Dr. Oz pledged to broaden Medicare Advantage, a privately-controlled version of Medicare that has garnered popularity despite being a magnet for fraudulent activities. According to a federal disclosure filed by him in 2022, he estimates his net worth to be in the range of a staggering $100 million to $315 million. Meanwhile, Lutnick will be responsible for maneuvering Trump’s plan to boost and enforce tariffs as the commerce secretary, viewed by many as another concerning move.
Lutnick, an avid supporter of cryptocurrency and the leader of Cantor Fitzgerald brokerage and investment bank, is being positioned to manage Trump’s tariff and trade agenda, including direct accountability for the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Trump made this announcement via his social media platform, the one place he can surely drown out any dissenting voices. Lutnick’s nomination, however, puts him in charge of a vast Cabinet agency that deals with a host of issues including the funding of new computer chip factories, placing restrictions on trade, releasing economic data, and even overseeing weather monitoring.
Trump’s administration and its close connections to CEOs and the larger business community raise worries about conflicts of interest. A known advocate for imposing comprehensive tariffs, Lutnick declared in a recent CNBC interview that ‘tariffs are an incredible tool for the president to use–we need to protect the American worker.’ Trump has even proposed a whopping 60% tariff on goods imported from China, and tariffs as high as 20% on literally all other imports, in a move that not many economists would consider smart.
Most economy experts harbor skepticism towards tariffs, observing them as largely inefficient means for governments to generate revenue and facilitate prosperity. In a system where the key players are capitalist magnates, can the American worker truly be protected, or is this yet another populist slogan? Lutnick, who joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983 and quickly ascended to the roles of president and CEO in 1991, is perceived as a bigwig in financial circles, which can make these trends even more concerning.
This leadership filled with billionaires and TV personalities seems more like a reality show cast than a cabinet committed to serving the American public. Instead of selecting experienced individuals with a strong record in public service, Trump appears to be installing loyalists and sycophants into vital roles. Ironically, this pick-and-choose approach seems like everything else in the Trump era: A casting call where loyalty is valued over expertise and service.