WASHINGTON — President Trump escalated his manic revenge on Minnesota Governor Tim Walz by cancelling all Small Business Administration support for the state. Th announcement came from SBA administrator Kelly Loeffler. It was Trump’s latest noose-tightening on Minnesota in his bitter attacks on Walz for challenging him as the Democratic vice-presidential candidate in 2024 and for Walz’s follow-up tours to rally Democrats against Trump policies. The U.S. Small Business Administration had been on course to deliver $5.5 million this for loans and mentoring to Minnesota companies. Loeffler announced the cuts dripping with Trump boogeyman rhetoric – racist slurs, dog-whistle references to socialiam, and whipping boy allusions to “fraud, waste and abuse.” She explained SBA cuts as “the result of a fundamental breakdown in the public trust.” Addressing Walz specifically, Loeffler said:
“Under your leadership, Minnesota failed to safeguard taxpayer dollars, and SBA will not continue to place federal resources at risk in a state where oversight measures are ignored and accountability is abandoned.”
Loeffler cited old news about $2.5 million in Paycheck Protection money and CoVid economic disaster loans. The cases have been or are being prosecuted. Loeffler used her announcement ton maligning Minnesota by picking up Trump’s racist obsession, alleging that $2.5 million in fraud was granted “to individuals indicted as part of the Somali fraud scheme.”
Loeffler, Although Loeffler was minimally qualified to run SBA, Trump put her in charge. She had been a multi-million dollar donor to his 2024 election campaign.
Sidelined SBA funds
> Small business development centers, $2.2 million.
> Women’s business centers, $450,000,
> SCORE, which provides planning for loan guarantees, contracting assistance, and mentoring, $300,000,
> Technology partnerships, $94,000.
> Growth accelerators, $150,000.
>Micro-loans: $26,000.
Loeffler drew mindlessly on right-wing cliches for her broad-swath Trumpian barrage. For example, she accused Walz of “socialist policies deliberately designed to pump out welfare funding without oversight or accountability.” Historical note: The Small Business Administration was created in 1953 by Republican President Dwight Eisenhower to assist small business. Eisenhower was no socialist.