Republicans praise her business acumen and say she’s a good pick to change the course of American education. Sen. Bill Cassidy, chair of the health and education committee, met with McMahon in January and said she’s “prepared to return power to parents and reform an Education Department that has lost the plot.”

President Donald Trump's choice to run the Department of Education, Linda McMahon, faces a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday where Democrats are likely to grill her on the president's plans to shut the department outright.

She backed diversity and equity initiatives while on the state school board in Connecticut. Her confirmation hearing for education secretary starts Thursday.