Linda McMahon, co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment and President Trump’s pick to head the Small Business Administration, received a reception so warm before the Senate Small Business Committee on her nomination that she was introduced by two of her opponents in past Connecticut Senate races, Democrats Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal.
Both praised her as an excellent pick to head the agency, and the others on the committee seemed to largely agree, indicating that McMahon would likely get an easy confirmation before the full Senate.
“She would be an excellent fit for this agency based on her experience and expertise as a business leader,” said Blumenthal, who faced off against McMahon in his 2010 Senate race. “She is a tireless leader and a tenacious fighter.”
Murphy, who faced McMahon in 2012, conceded their endorsements would be “amusing and surprising” to those who watched the three of them “duke it out” but added that “politics can’t work if old grudges never die.” He said he had confidence that she would provide “good, sound counsel” as head of the agency.
McMahon vowed to “work to revitalize a spirit of entrepreneurship in America.” She argued that entrepreneurs want to know that they “can take a risk on an expansion or a new hire without fearing onerous new regulations or unexpected taxes, fees and fines that will make such growth unaffordable.”
She said she understood the strains that small business owners face, having been one herself, even discussing her experience going through a bankruptcy early in her career in the 1970s.
After a little more than two hours of mostly friendly questions, committee Chairman James Risch, R-Idaho, said lawmakers expected McMahon could get fully confirmed next week.
