Trump Taps Linda McMahon to Lead SBA

On December 7, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump announced he will nominate former professional wrestling executive Linda McMahon as the head of the Small Business Administration. McMahon, 68, is the former CEO of the WWE, who also unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2010. Trump’s announcement stated that McMahon will assist his administration with generating stronger job growth and reducing federal regulations. Trump cited McMahon’s work with the WWE, which began as a 13-person operation and grew to a publically-traded company with hundreds of employees. McMahon was an early supporter of Trump’s campaign. Trump is a WWE Hall of Fame Member and has appeared on the WWE programs several times, including Wrestlemania XXIII where he famously tousled with McMahon’s husband, Vince McMahon. With an office in every state, the SBA provides support to small businesses through various loan and contracting programs. Programs administered by the SBA include contracting programs specifically targeted at increasing small business ownership by women and minorities. These programs, as well as the SBA’s other small business assistance programs are administered through various federal regulations. It is unclear at this time how Trump and McMahon will alter the SBA’s functions; however, given the stated desire to roll back federal regulations, it is likely that change is coming. The process for altering federal regulations is notoriously slow – often taking years, rendering the rate of change unclear. Undoubtedly, with McMahon at the head, the course of the SBA and government procurement in general will alter. We will continue to monitor the SBA under the new administration and provide updates as to the SBA’s new direction. Let’s get ready to rumble.