The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Kelly Loeffler as administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) on Feb. 19, 2025. The Senate voted 52-46 in favor of her nomination, with Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) joining 51 Republicans voting in favor. This was the 18th member of President Donald Trump’s (R) Cabinet confirmed in his second presidential term.
Trump announced on Dec. 4, 2024, that he had selected Loeffler as his nominee for administrator of the SBA. Trump said of Loeffler’s nomination, “Small Businesses are the backbone of our Great Economy. Kelly will bring her experience in business and Washington to reduce red tape, and unleash opportunity for our Small Businesses to grow, innovate, and thrive. She will focus on ensuring that SBA is accountable to Taxpayers by cracking down on waste, fraud, and regulatory overreach.” The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee held a confirmation hearing for Loeffler on Jan. 19, 2025, and voted 12-7 to advance her nomination.
Loeffler grew up in Illinois. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.B.A. from DePaul University. Loeffler formerly co-owned the Atlanta Dream WNBA team. She served as chief communications and marketing officer and as head of investor relations for Intercontinental Exchange, a firm that operates commodity and financial exchanges, for 16 years. Loeffler served as a U.S. Senator representing Georgia from 2020 to 2021.
A presidential Cabinet is a group of senior federal officials who advise the president on the issues and activities of their respective agencies. The number of officials in a Cabinet can vary across presidential administrations. While not explicitly identified in the Constitution, the Cabinet secretaries are the 15 agency heads who are in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also part of the Cabinet.
During Trump’s second term, the following offices are also Cabinet-rank positions: White House chief of staff, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. trade representative, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the director of National Intelligence, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the ambassador to the United Nations.