Trump picks former Sen. Kelly Loeffler for small business administrator

President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will nominate former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., to lead the Small Business Administration in his second term.

"I am very pleased to nominate business leader and former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler, from the Great State of Georgia, to serve as Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA)," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump called Loeffler "a tremendous fighter in the U.S. Senate during the first Trump Administration" and said she would "bring her experience in business and Washington to reduce red tape, and unleash opportunity for our Small Businesses to grow, innovate, and thrive."

Trump announced last month that Loeffler would co-chair the organization planning his inauguration.

Loeffler, 53, represented Georgia in the Senate for just over a year in 2020 and 2021, filling the seat left by the late Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., when he resigned because of health reasons. She ran in the 2020 special election for the seat but lost in a runoff election to Democrat Raphael Warnock.

After the 2020 election, as Trump pushed his claims of widespread voter fraud, Loeffler repeatedly refused to acknowledge that he had lost the presidential election. NBC News reported last year that a special grand jury in Georgia that initially investigated Trump's efforts to overturn the election results recommended indicting more than three dozen people, including 21 who weren't charged in the Fulton County case. Loeffler was among those the panel recommended, but she was ultimately not charged.

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Trump has named other choices for his future Cabinet who also expressed doubt about his loss in the 2020 election, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., his pick for ambassador to the U.N.; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., chosen for secretary of state; and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, selected for attorney general.

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Loeffler is the founder of the company RallyRight, which is described as “a suite of technology products designed to empower conservatives with the necessary tools to win at every level.” She is also on the board for the application PublicSquare, which is described as the “largest marketplace & payments ecosystem that protects life, family, and freedom.” She previously owned a 49% stake in the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, which was sold in 2021.

The small business administrator is subject to Senate confirmation.