The former U.S. senator from Georgia pledged to adopt a zero-tolerance policy for abuse, fraud, and waste and to conduct a full-scale audit.
The Senate confirmed former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) to head the Small Business Administration (SBA) by a vote of 52–46 on Feb 19.
As SBA administrator, Loeffler will lead an agency that provides counsel and leads to the country’s millions of small businesses.
The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, chaired by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), advanced Loeffler’s confirmation out of committee in a 12–7 vote on Feb. 5.
In a Feb. 13 speech on the Senate floor, Ernst urged her colleagues to approve Loeffler as the next SBA administrator.
“Sen. Loeffler will bring accountability back to the agency and promote policies that will truly benefit American small businesses,” Ernst said.
“As evidenced in her nomination hearing, Sen. Loeffler’s experience and her expertise make her the right person to lead the SBA and advocate for our small businesses.”
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Loeffler, an entrepreneur who grew her startup into a Fortune 500 company and co-owned the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream for a decade, pledged to overhaul the SBA by cutting red tape, restoring accountability, and modernizing the agency.
She detailed a zero-tolerance policy for abuse, fraud, and waste and vowed to conduct a full-scale audit of the SBA.
“Each taxpayer dollar entrusted to SBA should have an economic multiplier effect—delivering productive capital to grow manufacturing, strengthen rural communities, create jobs, and develop critical technology like AI and chips,” Loeffler said in her prepared remarks before the Senate committee.
“I believe we must continue to empower entrepreneurs from all walks of life, including women and veterans.”
She pledged to donate her annual salary of more than $200,000 to charity. When she served in Congress, Loeffler donated her salary to 40 Georgia charities and nonprofit organizations.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said on the Senate floor this past week that he would not support Loeffler’s confirmation, citing concerns about her ties to Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
According to Markey, Loeffler would answer to both Trump and Musk, resulting in a potential overreach by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Taxpayers need to ensure they have an environment which is fair and impartial at the SBA,” Markey said.
Last month, Trump fired Hannibal Ware, the SBA’s inspector general. Ware joined seven other inspectors general in a lawsuit this month challenging the terminations as unlawful and demanding reinstatement.
“IGs must be watchdogs, not lapdogs. The deleterious consequences of the Trump administration’s contrary approach are hard to overstate,” the lawsuit stated.
Ware was nominated for the position during the first Trump administration.
