Former Republican Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler was confirmed by the Senate to lead the Small Business Administration (SBA) in a 52 to 46 vote on Wednesday.
The confirmation fell along party lines, much like Loeffler’s Jan. 29 hearing with the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, which ended with a party line vote of 12 to 7 with only two Democratic senators crossing the aisle in her favor.
Loeffler, who served in the U.S. Senate from 2020-2021, is the former co-owner of the WNBA team Atlanta Dream and the former chief executive of Bakkt, a cryptocurrency trading platform.
Ahead of the final vote, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota pulled from Loeffler’s background growing up on a farm in Illinois as he gave her glowing remarks from the Senate floor, saying “small business is in Loeffler’s blood.”
“She grew up on her family’s fourth-generation farm in Illinois. In addition to the farm, her dad ran a small trucking company. And as a young woman, Kelly Loeffler worked in the soybean fields and waited tables at small restaurants in the heartland,” said Thune. “As Senator Loeffler put it, she has spent her life, and I quit, ‘working in small businesses, starting them, growing them, and helping them succeed.’”
In her committee hearing, Loeffler presented her vision for the SBA as a revamped Main Street — more transparency within the agency, accountability to taxpayers, responsibility to taxpayers, and Congressional collaboration to improve critical relief programs within the SBA.
Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who is the chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, spoke in favor of Loeffler on the Senate floor on Thursday, stating Loeffler “is immensely qualified for this role.”
“As a successful businesswoman, it is abundantly clear that Senator Loeffler truly understands what it takes to be an entrepreneur and will be an effective voice for small businesses across America,” Ernst said. “Growing up on her family’s farm in Bloomington, Illinois, Senator Loeffler experienced firsthand the problems facing America’s farmers and small business owners.”
Contrasting Ernst’s favor towards Loeffler, fellow committee member Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey also spoke on the Senate floor, proclaiming he stands “in opposition to the confirmation of Kelly Loeffler” as he believes President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are looking to fill the cabinet with people to do their “bidding.”
“As I stand here today, [Department of Government Efficiency] DOGE operatives continue to work under the cover of darkness, including at the Small Business Administration. The American people want answers. Is the private information of families and businesses and individuals safe at the SBA? Will an entrepreneur looking to open their beauty salon be able to close on an SBA loan and get their money on schedule?” Markey claimed. “Can government contractors, many of which are veterans, continue providing critical services while getting paid on time? Lawmakers and American families alike are scrambling to figure out whether the government is open for business.”
Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, also on the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, said it’s time to “focus on our underserved communities” and gave positive comments on Loeffler’s ability to lead the SBA on the Senate floor Feb. 5.
It’s time for us to right the ship to focus on our underserved communities and make sure that every single zip code in this nation has strong, powerful small businesses. As a former small business owner, I have great confidence in Kelly Loeffler’s ability to do the job. pic.twitter.com/GcSPdmrLDh
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) February 5, 2025
Scott worked alongside Loeffler during her time representing neighboring state Georgia in the senate and recognized her upbringing in Illinois during a December meeting with Loeffler following her nomination from President Donald Trump.
“Kelly grew up on her family’s farm in Illinois and worked her way up to achieve barrier breaking success in the business world,” Scott said in a statement. “Her life experience gives her a unique understanding of our economy and the environment we need to create to promote entrepreneurship and opportunity.”
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