Politico reports that sources close to Linda McMahon, administrator of the Small Business Administration and one of the highest-ranking women in government, say she will resign as soon as today. One source says that McMahon will join President Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign as a fundraiser. The White House and the SBA have not confirmed this report.
McMahon is a long time friend of the president’s, having met him when he made appearances on WWE, which she ran with her husband Vince McMahon in the 1980s, according to CNN.
McMahon, one of five women in the president’s cabinet, has largely escaped criticism and ethics charges that have plagued other members of the Trump cabinet. During the two years that she served as head of the SBA, she has overseen the agency’s loans programs that encouraged women to run small businesses, traveled to areas hit by hurricanes with the president, traveled around the country to promote Trump’s agenda and was a proponent of the Republican tax bill last year.
Linda McMahon, viewed as a loyal member of the administration in spite of being critical of Trump at times during the campaign, has been seen as a possible replacement for Wilbur Ross when he steps down. However, Mick Mulvaney, Acting White House chief of staff, is also interested in taking over for Ross as Commerce Secretary, per Politico.
It is unclear who will step into the role of administrator, but the SBA’s chief of staff, Pradeep Belur is said to be interested in replacing McMahon. Trump praised McMahon’s business acumen when he nominated her for the cabinet post in 2016, calling her “one of the country’s top female executives”.
