The Small Business Administration was established in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to assist, advise, assist and protect the interests of small businesses and to preserve free, competitive enterprise. His responsibilities include reviewing congressional legislation and assessing the impact of the regulatory burden on small businesses.

The decision almost certainly means Loeffler, one of Trump’s biggest donors, will no longer run for Georgia’s open gubernatorial race in 2026 or challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff if he runs for another term. It was created by allies of Lt. Hailing Gov. Burt Jones, who is expected to run for governor as a MAGA ally.

The president-elect had also considered Loeffler for other posts, including as head of the Agriculture Department, before selecting Brooke Rollins, his former domestic policy adviser, for the job.

But the appointment positions Loeffler to have more influence both in Georgia and in national Republican politics as Trump prepares to take office.

Loeffler could serve in Trump’s administration alongside former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, her rival in a special Senate election in 2020 that sharply divided Republicans in Georgia. Trump tapped Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.

For Loeffler, the appointment continues the transformation from political newcomer to loyal Trump supporter in just five years.

She was unknown to many Georgians in 2019 when Kemp overturned Collins and appointed her to a vacant seat vacated by then-U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, who resigned before the end of his term due to growing health problems.

Even Trump expressed outrage at the decision and urged Kemp to select the four-term congressman for the coveted post. But Kemp saw in Loeffler a fresh political voice who could help attract swing voters, particularly women, who fled the party during Trump’s first term.

During a long and contentious special election campaign, Loeffler and Collins engaged in increasingly personal attacks as they vied for Trump’s favor.

The then-president never endorsed any of his allies, but Loeffler said she quickly gained his trust after joining the U.S. Senate and said within weeks of taking office that she had regular phone conversations with Trump.

Although Loeffler defeated Collins for a spot in the runoff, Democrat Raphael Warnock won a nine-week extension campaign that helped take control of the Senate.

In the months following this defeat, Loeffler did not withdraw from politics. She founded Greater Georgia, a political organization that sought to mobilize hard-to-reach voters on conservative issues and also helped vote candidates across the state.

Loeffler was particularly involved in important state legislative elections and cultivated relationships with aspiring Republicans. She also helped recruit former White House intern Courtney Kramer to lead a long-term effort to oust Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

And she remained a passionate supporter of Trump. She and her husband Jeff Sprecher, who runs the financial trading platform Intercontinental Exchange, were among Trump’s biggest donors.

Loeffler was a fixture at Trump’s campaign events and was named by the president-elect to co-chair his inauguration committee. And in mid-November, Trump’s platform Truth Social was reportedly in talks to buy the cryptocurrency platform Bakkt, which Loeffler once ran.

Loeffler’s path into politics was unorthodox. Growing up in rural Illinois, she was a standout basketball player who later rose to become an executive at the company her husband runs. She previously worked at Toyota Motor Sales USA, Citigroup and William Blair. After leaving the Intercontinental Exchange, she led the cryptocurrency company Bakkt.

She had previously considered runs for public office, including a run for the open Senate seat in 2014, which Republican David Perdue ultimately won. Her allies said at the time that Intercontinental Exchange’s purchase of the New York Stock Exchange led her to decide against running.

To some, Loeffler was better known as a co-owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream franchise and an influencer in the city’s civic circles. As she became more involved in Republican politics, her name quickly came up after Isakson made the surprise decision to resign early.

Kemp and his wife, Marty, were excited by Loeffler’s promise to attract independent voters. Her large bank account also played a role in the election – after all, she and her husband poured more than $31 million of their wealth into her Senate campaign.

But her nomination to the post — and Collins’ decision to also run for the seat — sparked a race to the party’s flanks as both battled for the GOP’s MAGA base.

That fight didn’t let up, even after she edged out Collins for a spot in the runoff. Under relentless pressure from Trump, she announced that she would object to the Electoral College’s certification of the 2020 election that Trump lost the day after the vote on January 5, 2021.

She eventually abandoned her plan to challenge the election results in Georgia, citing the pro-Trump mafia that had gathered at the US Capitol. But she was careful not to criticize Trump and immediately positioned herself as one of his biggest Georgia supporters.

Loeffler’s Greater Georgia Initiative helped keep her involved in state politics, and she worked to cement her relationship with Kemp as Trump and other key MAGA figures in Georgia went to war with him.

She and her husband also strengthened their ties to Trump by donating $5 million to his 2024 campaign and another $1 million to fund the Republican National Convention.

Your financial holdings pose further complications. During her Senate campaign, Loeffler came under scrutiny after a large number of stocks that she or her husband owned were sold shortly after Loeffler attended a coronavirus-related news conference in January 2020 where only senators were present.

The U.S. Senate Ethics Committee rejected complaints from watchdog groups that questioned whether she engaged in insider trading, and other officials closed investigations into the stock transactions without finding any criminal wrongdoing.

Loeffler told Political Georgia before her appointment that she would “of course” work to prevent conflicts of interest as she joins the administration.

“I definitely did that in 2020. Will it put an end to the allegations? No, it’s just an essential part,” she said. “And now it’s a badge of honor. But I will always do the right thing, and I will definitely always do too much.”