Senator Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) is circulating a document to Senate colleagues advocating for former Senator Kelly Loeffler (R., Ga.) to run the Small Business Administration ahead of a vote on her confirmation.
Ernst’s pamphlet supporting Loeffler, obtained by National Review, highlights Loeffler’s resume and features praise from herself and other Republican Senators. It also features media coverage of Loeffler’s nomination, which advanced 12-7 out of the Senate Small Business Committee.
“The honorable Kelly Loeffler is a successful businesswoman, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and dedicated public servant,” the flier reads.
“From growing up on a farm in Illinois and working in her family’s soybean fields and cattle feedlots to seeing the challenges with regulations in her family’s trucking business, she developed a strong work ethic and appreciation for the American Dream.”
Ernst is set to speak on the Senate floor Wednesday ahead of the chamber’s vote Wednesday on confirming Loeffler to be the next SBA Administrator. She is expected to be confirmed easily with bipartisan support.
“I am confident that Senator Loeffler will ensure SBA once again works for all small businesses, and usher in a golden age for America’s small businesses,” Ernst will say, echoing her previous remarks about Loeffler’s qualifications.
“Senator Loeffler is the right person to lead the Small Business Administration – she understands the burdens facing small businesses and recognizes how Washington can often serve as a barrier and a hinderance to their success.”
Ernst has already laid out a blueprint for how Loeffler can improve the SBA’s various loan programs and make the agency run more efficiently. As Senate DOGE Caucus chair, Ernst is a loud proponent of reducing government waste, cutting needless spending by administrative agencies, and reorganizing the federal bureaucracy.
A successful businesswoman, Loeffler spent much of her career in the financial services industry at Intercontinental Exchange. She was previously a minority owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.
Loeffler was in the Senate from 2020 to 2021 after being appointed to fill a vacancy left by former Senator Johnny Isakson (R., Ga.). She lost to Senator Raphael Warnock (D) in a January 2021 special election but has remained active in Republican politics ever since.
Loeffler donated nearly $5 million to President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and worked on get out the vote efforts in Georgia. Trump ultimately won Georgia on his way to a resounding electoral triumph this past November against former Vice President Kamala Harris. Afterwards, Loeffler co-chaired Trump’s inaugural committee for his second presidential term.