Judge pauses sexual abuse lawsuit involving Linda McMahon, WWE

WWE co-founder Linda McMahon was most recently the chair of a Trump-aligned think tank. Now she's Trump's pick to run the Department of Education.

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WASHINGTON – A judge has halted a federal lawsuit accusing Linda McMahon, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Education, of failing to stop alleged sexual abuse at her wrestling entertainment company. 

U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar paused the case last week, pending a ruling in a separate matter before the Maryland Supreme Court. That case challenges the constitutionality of the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023, a state law that repealed the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse lawsuits.

In the federal suit, five unnamed former employees of World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, say McMahon and her husband, Vince, allowed the “systemic and pervasive” abuse of underaged children to persist for years at the hands of a longtime employee who died in 2012. The suit also names WWE as a defendant.

Read more: Negligence lawsuit filed against WWE, Vince McMahon by 'ring boys' who allege sexual abuse

The lawsuit says Melvin Phillips Jr., a former ring announcer, hired boys as young as 12 to help set up and take down wrestling rings in order to sexually abuse them. The former employees' lawyers say Vince McMahon knew about Phillips’ “peculiar and unnatural interest” in young boys since at least the 1980s. 

The lawsuit was initially filed in state court in Baltimore in October, roughly a month before Trump tapped Linda McMahon for his Cabinet. The case then gained national attention and was transferred to federal court in Maryland in December. McMahon, who served during Trump's first term as head of the Small Business Administration, will face confirmation hearings in the Republican-controlled Senate in the new year.

In a statement to USA TODAY Sports in October, Jessica Rosenberg, an attorney for Vince McMahon, said the allegations stem from false, decades-old statements reported in the New York Post. 

“The negligence claims against Mr. McMahon that were asserted today rely on these same absurd, defamatory and utterly meritless statements,” she said. “We will vigorously defend Mr. McMahon and are confident the court will find that these claims are untrue and unfounded.”

Reached by phone on Monday, the lawyer representing Linda McMahon declined to comment on the case. Laura Brevetti, another of Linda McMahon's lawyers, told CNN in November: “This civil lawsuit based upon 30-plus-year-old allegations is filled with scurrilous lies, exaggerations and misrepresentations regarding Linda McMahon.” 

“Ms. McMahon will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit and without doubt ultimately succeed,” said Brevetti. She added that Linda and Vince McMahon are separated. 

The firm representing the five former employees who sued declined to comment on Monday.

Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele.