November 20, 2024
Trump Taps Linda McMahon For Education Secretary, Dr. Oz As Medicare Overseer, Howard Lutnick For Commerce Leader
Well this should be fun....
President-elect Donald Trump has added some of his friends to the roster of controversial cabinet nominees, including a Wall Street executive, wrestling mogul, and former Oprah Winfrey protege, the Associated Press reports. WWE leader Linda McMahon has been enlisted as a nominee for secretary of education. Dr. Mehmet Oz, former “Dr. Oz” talk show host, was tapped to oversee health insurance programs such as the Affordable Care Act for older, disabled, and less fortunate Americans. Wall Street tycoon Howard Lutnick was named to lead the Department of Commerce.
Despite backlash from Democratic and Republican lawmakers, Trump has praised all three nominees for their accomplishments in their fields.
McMahon once served one term on the Connecticut Board of Education in 2009 and has since served on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University. With unknown ties to education, the wrestling executive has expressed support for charter schools and school choice. “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,” Trump said.
If confirmed by the Senate for the cabinet position, McMahon will be tasked with aligning Trump’s vision of education — or the “left-wing indoctrination” in America’s schools — to the department that he has threatened to dismantle. The goal will be to get rid of “any school pushing Critical Race Theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”
According to CNN, Lutnick, the CEO of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, will be tasked with guiding “our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.” While serving as the co-chair of Trump’s presidential transition team since August 2024, Lutnick had his eyes set on the role of Treasury secretary within the cabinet, battling it out against hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.
Under his new title, once projected to go to McMahon, the CEO will oversee the 13 bureaus housed under the Department, including the Census Bureau, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Patent and Trademark Office. Lutnick will garner support from U.S. businesses and sit in as an emissary between other nations in hopes of negotiating trade deals and increasing foreign investment.
During Trump’s NYC rally in October 2024, Lutnick highlighted the last prosperous U.S. economy that occurred during the early 1900s — a time of only tariffs and no income tax. “We had so much money that we had the greatest businessmen of America get together to try to figure out how to spend it,” he said.
Trump enlisted Oz to “cut waste and fraud within our Country’s most expensive Government Agency, which is a third of our Nation’s Healthcare spend.” The outspoken supporter will serve as the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and report to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been nominated as the leader of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The heart surgeon and failed Pennsylvania senate candidate has been accused of promoting faulty products on his show that aired for 13 seasons. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he pushed for government officials to make hydroxychloroquine available despite heightened questions about its safety and effectiveness. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) expressed her concern about Oz’s appointment on X, stating he is unqualified for the position. “Dr. Oz has zero qualifications, pushes alarming pseudoscience, & holds extreme anti-abortion views,” she said.
“CMS is a critical agency & we need serious leaders to protect Americans’ health care and bring down costs — not TV hosts whose main qualification is their loyalty to Trump.”
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