Donald Trump’s US presidential campaign has announced that two major donors, Linda McMahon and Howard Lutnick, will chair a transition team in the event of his win in the upcoming November elections. The team’s responsibility will be to vet potential staff and develop policies. Wrestling enterprise tycoon Linda McMahon and Cantor Fitzgerald’s CEO, Howard Lutnick, have been appointed co-chairs, according to the campaign’s statement.
Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, as well as his vice-presidential running mate, JD Vance, will hold honorary chair positions. McMahon, the co-founder and previous CEO of the WWE professional wrestling franchise, is presently the chair of the America First Policy Institute. This institute has been instrumental in drafting potential policies for Trump’s prospective second term.
During Trump’s 2017-2021 tenure, McMahon served as the Small Business Administration’s administrator. Lutnick has emerged as a key fundraiser for Trump, recently hosting a $15 million (€13.6 million) Hampton’s fundraiser for the former president.
Presidential campaigns typically assemble transition teams leading up to an election, however it remains unclear what influence Trump’s transition team will have if he surpasses Democratic candidate and current vice president, Kamala Harris in the November 5th vote.
Trump previously sacked much of his transition team prior to winning the 2016 elections due to disputes with former leader, ex-New Jersey governor Chris Christie. At this time, concerns were raised over Christie’s staffing preferences and a political scandal involving his former aides.
At present, Trump is primarily focused on campaigning, with insiders indicating his polling lead has significantly diminished since Harris took over from President Joe Biden as the Democratic ticket’s leader.