Ranking Member Markey Blasts Trump’s Small Business Administration for Using Nonpartisan Employees to Play Political Games During Shutdown

SBA turns agency into illegal Trump lobbying organization through out-of-office emails, district office voicemails, website pop-ups

Pop-up banner found on SBA website (top), planning email on shutdown from SBA HR to SBA employees (left), suggested out of office reply for SBA employees (right)

Letter (PDF)

(Washington, October 3) - Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today sent a letter to Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler, demanding a response to evidence that the SBA is being illegally utilized as a partisan political tool during the government shutdown. This week, the SBA illegally engaged in partisan politics by encouraging nonpartisan federal employees to put a political message in their out-of-office email responses. The agency is using the same message on SBA district office answering machines and on the official SBA website. The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from engaging in certain types of political activity, such as advocating for or against partisan political parties, candidates, or groups.

In the letter, Ranking Member Markey writes, "The SBA's actions are a gross misuse of federal resources and a betrayal of public trust. Career civil servants do not swear their oath of office to a president, a political party, or a campaign, they swear to uphold the Constitution. The weaponization of public agencies for partisan gain is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes, not of American democracy."

Ranking Member Markey continues, "The SBA plays a vital role in stabilizing communities during times of crisis and ensuring that small businesses and entrepreneurs, particularly those in underserved communities, receive the support they need to grow and thrive. Any attempt to convert the agency or its workforce into a partisan tool undermines this mission and harms the small businesses that rely on the SBA's impartiality and professionalism."

Ranking Member Markey requests answers by October 17, 2025, to the following questions:

1. Please explain how SBA officials made the decision to promote partisan political language on the SBA's website and on district office voicemails. Please explain how SBA officials and CHCO made the decision to direct SBA employees covered by the Hatch Act to engage in partisan political activity and messaging.
2. Which agency officials were involved in instructing SBA employees to promote partisan political messages on SBA's website, district office voicemails, out-of-office email signatures, and other forums?
3. Were you personally involved in the decision to send the September 30, 2025, and October 1, 2025, emails cited in this letter and did you personally approve these messages?
4. Were you personally involved in the decision to post the false partisan banner on SBA's website or set the voicemails of SBA's district offices to the same message?
5. Will SBA employees face repercussions for refusing to use in their out-of-office email signatures the partisan language suggested by CHCO in its October 1, 2025, email?
6. Have you and other SBA personnel received legal guidance or training on Hatch Act compliance? What kind of legal guidance or training did you and other SBA personnel receive?
7. Moving forward, what steps are you taking to ensure the SBA's neutrality and adherence to the Hatch Act, and other civil service protections, during this government shutdown and beyond?