Loeffler previously served as a Republican senator representing Georgia and spent decades working in the financial services industry.
Senator Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) is excited by the prospect of her former Senate GOP colleague Kelly Loeffler running the Small Business Administration.
Ernst, who is chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, will deliver remarks praising Trump’s pick for SBA administrator at the start of Loeffler’s confirmation hearing Wednesday morning, National Review has learned.
“Throughout your distinguished career, you’ve risen through the ranks at multiple companies due to your determination and grit, and you have started many successful businesses yourself. Most importantly, you understand what it means to be overrun by Washington’s bureaucratic overreach and that government must instead get out of businesses’ way so they can thrive,” Ernst will say in prepared remarks.
Loeffler was a Republican senator from Georgia from 2020-21 and spent decades working in the financial services industry. She previously owned the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream and currently sits on the board of conservative online commerce platform Public Square.
Loeffler has poured millions of dollars into Republican campaigns and get out the vote efforts, helping flip Georgia to Trump in the 2024 election cycle. Given her fortune, Loeffler has promised to donate her government salary to charity.
Ernst believes the Biden administration’s SBA mismanaged Covid-19 fraud and loan delinquencies to the detriment of taxpayers. Under Biden, the SBA failed to inform a government watchdog of their loans receivable and loan guarantees, meaning the agency has not been subject to a fiscal audit in years.
She is also concerned about the SBA’s management of its disaster relief account, which had a 66-day-long shortfall last year, and the prevalence of remote work among the agency’s staff. Relocating federal agencies and selling off vacant federal properties are two of Ernst’s priorities as chair of the Senate DOGE caucus.
Prior to the hearing, Ernst wrote a letter to Trump detailing her concerns around the SBA and identifying problems Loeffler should tackle upon confirmation, as NR previously reported.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our rural communities, and for too long under the Biden administration, they’ve been crushed with red tape and woke program requirements, with no one caring about how that affects the day-to-day operations,” Ernst’s remarks conclude.
“I see a great opportunity for the Trump administration, and you, to revitalize small businesses in America.”
The SBA typically flies under the radar, but during the Covid-19 pandemic it became an essential distributor of loans meant to keep small businesses afloat during stringent government lockdowns and social distancing mandates. It primarily assists small businesses through capital, government contracting programs, and support for small business counseling services.
President Trump and his Republican allies have promised to enact deregulation and pro-growth tax policies to unleash American innovation and allow small businesses to develop with less red tape.