Politics
- On Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate former Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler to head the Small Business Administration.
- In November 2019, Gov. Brian Kemp named Loeffler, a wealthy businessperson, to fill the U.S. Senate seat Johnny Isakson announced he would vacate at the end of the year for health reasons. In the application she submitted to the governor’s office, Loeffler wrote about how she would support Trump, then serving his first term, and help “Keep America Great.”
- In 2014, she considered running for an open U.S. Senate seat but passed up the opportunity. She said then, though, that she was concerned that "the average family or individual is being left behind and may not have the same opportunities that I had coming out of public schools just a couple of decades ago."
- Loeffler ran to keep the seat in 2020, but she was forced into a runoff with Democrat Raphael Warnock. Warnock won the runoff on Jan. 5, 2021, alongside Jon Ossoff, who defeated incumbent Sen. David Perdue, flipping the Senate for Democrats.
- The following day, Jan. 6, 2021, Loeffler cast her vote to certify the Electoral College results from the 2020 presidential election. She had said she would vote against the count, but she changed her mind after a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, forcing members of Congress to hide in their offices and flee the building.
- In February 2021, Loeffler announced the formation of the Republican voter turnout operation Greater Georgia. The organization helped mobilize hard-to-reach voters around conservative issues and also helped down-ballot candidates across the state.
Political assets
- Loeffler is a close ally of Trump, which has emerged as perhaps the most important asset for the president-elect. Trump picked Loeffler as a co-chair of his inaugural committee. She was a major political donor to his 2024 campaign.
- Although her tenure there was short, she was a known figure in the U.S. Senate, which could ease her confirmation.
Political liabilities
- She is a former executive with the financial services company Intercontinental Exchange, which operates marketplaces for commodity trading. Her husband, Jeff Sprecher, is CEO of the company. Those financial ties could raise eyebrows if she is to take over the Small Business Administration.
- Loeffler was the CEO of the Alpharetta-based cryptocurrency exchange Bakkt until her appointment to the Senate. Bakkt is 55% owned by Intercontinental Exchange, but Trump Media & Technology is reportedly in talks to purchase the company. The tangled financial connections there could be too troubling for some.
Career
- Along with her former position as CEO of Bakkt, Loeffler is a former co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, the city’s WNBA franchise. Loeffler sold her stake in the team after players criticized her comments about Black Lives Matter and openly supported Warnock to take her Senate seat.
- She also used to be the chief communications and marketing officer and head of investor relations for the Intercontinental Exchange.
- She serves on the board of directors for PublicSquare, an online marketplace aimed at conservative shoppers.
Other professional activities
- Loeffler also has served on the boards of Georgia Power, Grady Memorial Hospital, the Georgia Research Alliance and Skyland Trail, a nonprofit residential treatment center for mental health serving adolescents ages 14-17 and adults.
Background
- Loeffler was born in Bloomington, Ill., and grew up on the family farm, where she worked in the soybean fields. In high school, she competed in cross country, track and basketball.
- She married Sprecher in 2004.
Education
- A bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois in 1992.
- A master of business administration from DePaul University in 1999.
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