A Trump Ally Is Leaving Her Post for a Super PAC

Linda McMahon has been running the Small Business Administration
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 29, 2019 3:10 PM CDT
Linda McMahon Leaving Post to Run Trump Super PAC
SBA chief Linda McMahon speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

The head of the Small Business Administration, Linda McMahon, is stepping down from the role. A senior administration official told the AP of the move, confirming news first reported by Politico. The latter site says she is leaving to chair the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action. A former wrestling executive and major Republican donor, McMahon was tapped for the job by President Trump in late 2016. McMahon and her husband, Vince, founded and built World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., now a publicly traded sports entertainment company. She also poured $100 million of her fortune into two unsuccessful bids for a US Senate seat in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012.

McMahon first backed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for president. But she has known Trump for decades, and contributed $5 million to Trump's family charity, almost all of it in 2007. He participated in WWE events, including a 2007 "Battle of the Billionaires," during which he shaved Vince McMahon's head. After Trump secured the Republican nomination, McMahon became one of his most generous benefactors. Fundraising records show she gave $6 million to an outside group that aired supportive commercials and attack ads against Hillary Clinton. The SBA, best known for the small business loans it makes and the disaster aid it provides to companies and entrepreneurs, is also tasked with monitoring government officials' compliances with contract laws.

(More Linda McMahon stories.)

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