House Committee Intensifies Probe into Alleged SBA Electioneering in Michigan
A Republican-led House Small Business Committee is escalating its investigation into potential electioneering activities by the Small Business Administration (SBA) during the Biden administration, demanding detailed data and documents from current SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. The committee alleges that the previous administration obstructed their inquiries into the SBA’s partnership with the state of Michigan under former President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14019, aimed at promoting access to voting.
Chairman Roger Williams, a Republican representing Texas, and the committee have been persistent in their pursuit of information regarding the SBA’s collaboration with Michigan. The investigation centers around a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the SBA and the state, which the committee suspects was used to engage in partisan voter registration efforts in specific areas, such as Saginaw and Detroit.
The letter to Administrator Loeffler was coordinated with the House Administration Committee and its Chairman Bryan Steil, a Republican from Wisconsin, highlighting the seriousness of the allegations and the bipartisan interest in ensuring election integrity.
Chairman Williams expressed satisfaction with Administrator Loeffler’s commitment to rescinding the MOU with Michigan. However, the committee is demanding comprehensive documentation of the SBA’s activities prior to Loeffler’s confirmation to thoroughly investigate the matter.
The committee alleges that the previous SBA leadership misused the MOU to involve themselves in partisan voter registration drives, targeting specific precincts rather than providing impartial assistance to all voters. This has raised concerns about the SBA’s neutrality and potential influence on the electoral process.
The conflict between the House Small Business Committee and the Biden-era SBA escalated to the point where Chairman Williams issued a rare subpoena for information from the agency. The Oversight Project, a government watchdog affiliated with the conservative Heritage Foundation, also filed a lawsuit last year regarding the alleged electioneering behavior.
A year-end report obtained by Fox News Digital concluded that Biden’s executive order was an improper use of executive authority and that the SBA’s actions in accordance with the order posed unnecessary risks to the integrity of U.S. elections. The report further stated that the SBA had failed to refute concerns about the partisan nature of the MOU.
In light of these concerns, Chairman Williams is requesting a wide range of information from Administrator Loeffler, including the travel schedules of Biden-era SBA officials, communications among SBA personnel regarding Biden’s executive order, and all communications with the state of Michigan.
The committee is specifically seeking an unredacted copy of the implementation plans related to the MOU, as well as any evidence demonstrating whether the SBA engaged in voter access or voter registration activities before the MOU’s announcement in March 2024.
The committee is also seeking travel schedules and related documents for a dozen SBA staff members, including Isabel Casillas Guzman, Dilawar Syed, Arthur Plews, and Jennifer Kim.
Representatives for the Biden-era SBA have consistently denied any obstruction of the committee’s investigation. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson defended her collaboration with the SBA, stating that she was proud to work with the agency on this first-in-the-nation effort to connect Michigan’s small business community with the tools and information they need to play an even greater active role in our democracy.
A spokesperson for the SBA stated that the agency had cooperated with the committee’s inquiry for nearly two years, providing testimony at multiple hearings, briefing committee staff, making agency officials available for transcribed interviews, and producing thousands of pages of documents. The spokesperson dismissed the allegations as baseless.
Ranking member Rep. Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat from New York, criticized the Republican-led investigation as a waste of time. She argued that the webpage for the partnership never registered a single voter. Velazquez believes that the committee should instead focus on the impact of job and program cuts at the SBA and the high level of uncertainty among small businesses.
Velazquez previously stated that the committee had long prided itself on bipartisan cooperation to help American entrepreneurs, but that Chairman Williams’ behavior had rejected those principles.
In December, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, praised the work of the committee and its interim report, stating that it rightly exposed the improper use of executive authority and raised significant concerns about actions taken by an agency that may jeopardize the integrity of U.S. elections.
The House Small Business Committee’s intensified investigation underscores the ongoing debate surrounding election integrity and the role of government agencies in promoting voter access. The committee’s pursuit of detailed information from the SBA suggests a determination to uncover the full extent of the agency’s involvement in Michigan’s election processes and to ensure that such activities are conducted in a fair and impartial manner. The outcome of this investigation could have significant implications for future election administration and the relationship between government agencies and voter outreach efforts.
As the investigation progresses, it will be important to consider all perspectives and to carefully evaluate the evidence presented. The goal should be to ensure that elections are conducted with the highest level of integrity and that all eligible citizens have the opportunity to participate in the democratic process. The committee’s investigation will need to balance the need to protect election integrity with the importance of ensuring that government agencies are able to effectively carry out their missions and serve the public.
