Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) confronted Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, over a lawsuit alleging she allowed the sexual exploitation of minors as WWE's CEO. The tense exchange unfolded Thursday during McMahon's confirmation hearing.
"Mrs. McMahon, you have been named in a lawsuit which alleges that you and your husband allowed for systemic and pervasive abuse of underage children to persist in your business for years," Baldwin said. "It is an ongoing lawsuit, and it alleges that you rehired a known sexual predator, and you felt it was sufficient to simply direct him to steer clear of children. If confirmed, you will be responsible with overseeing the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights charged with ensuring equal access to education through vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws. I am so concerned about whether sexual assault survivors on campus can trust you to support them."
"Thank you, Senator, they certainly can trust me to support them," McMahon responded. "I have a granddaughter that is now in college. I have two grandsons who are in college, and I have deep commitment of understanding of how I would feel if any of them were involved in sexual harassment or accused of sexual harassment. You have my absolute commitment that I will uphold and protect those investigations to make sure that those students are treated fairly, on both sides."
A lawsuit filed in October in Baltimore County, Maryland, accuses Linda McMahon, her husband Vince, WWE, and its parent company of knowingly allowing employee Melvin Phillips Jr. to exploit his position as a ringside announcer to sexually abuse children. The suit alleges Phillips recruited young boys as "Ring Boys" and used the opportunity to prey on them—sometimes in full view of WWE executives and wrestlers.
Vince McMahon admitted in past filings that he and Linda McMahon were aware as early as the 1980s of Phillips' "peculiar and unnatural interest" in young boys, per CNN.
The lawsuit alleges that while the McMahons fired Phillips in 1988 amid mounting allegations, they rehired him six weeks later with instructions to "steer clear of kids." Phillips died in 2012.
"This civil lawsuit based upon thirty-plus year-old allegations is filled with scurrilous lies, exaggerations, and misrepresentations regarding Linda McMahon," McMahon's attorney, Laura Brevetti, said. "Ms. McMahon will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit and without doubt ultimately succeed."
The Maryland Child Victims Act paved the way for the suit, as it removed the statute of limitations on certain child sex abuse cases. While Vince McMahon faces multiple legal battles, including a federal investigation, Linda McMahon has not been named in any criminal proceedings.
She previously served as the head of the Small Business Administration under Trump before stepping down in 2019.
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