The 76-year-old was in the running to be the president-elect's pick to be Commerce Secretary but eventually lost out to Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick.

 Trump hailed McMahon as an advocate for school choice, allowing parents to send their children to a school of their choice. 

'As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand "Choice" to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families,' he said in a statement. 

McMahon could be the nation's last education secretary, if Trump has his way, as the president-elect has vowed to end the department and shift its administration back to the states. 

'Linda will use her decades of Leadership experience, and deep understanding of both Education and Business, to empower the next Generation of American Students and Workers, and make America Number One in Education in the World. We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort,' Trump said.  

He has warned that shutting down the department could come early in his second term, but would need congressional approval to do it. 

McMahon set up WWE with husband Vince in 1980 and would take on-screen roles before she left in 2009 to run for the Senate in Connecticut a year later.

With Vince she saw the company turn into a publicly-traded media empire.

During Trump's first administration she served as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, but now her loyalty has paid off with a more senior cabinet role.

She is the board chair of the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump think tank that was formed in 2021. 

Betsy DeVos, Trump's first education secretary, recommended to DailyMail.com how the president-elect could tear up the department she once ran.

DeVos, who resigned in protest over Trump's leadership on January 6 but is back in Trump's fold, detailed to DailyMail.com ways he could realize his goal of fully dismantling the organization.

'He has doubled down on his attention to the issues with education and I am very optimistic that he is going to make education and the reforms necessary a high priority in his second administration,' she said to DailyMail.com.