WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Small Business Administration released its 2025 Annual Report this week, touting what it called a historic reset of the agency under President Donald J. Trump and Administrator Kelly Loeffler, marked by record capital delivery, aggressive deregulation, and a sweeping crackdown on fraud.
The report, published January 20, details what the agency describes as a return to its statutory mission after four years of what it characterizes as inflationary policies, bureaucratic expansion, and weakened oversight during the Biden administration. It highlights record lending, a sharply reduced workforce, and a broad shift away from race-based federal contracting standards.
According to the SBA, the agency delivered more than $100 billion in capital in fiscal year 2025 across its lending, disaster, and investment programs. That included $45 billion in guaranteed 7(a) and 504 loans supporting roughly 85,000 small businesses, and a record $53 billion portfolio within the Small Business Investment Company program.
The report also outlines a dramatic internal restructuring. SBA officials said the agency reduced its workforce by more than 50 percent and eliminated approximately $300 million in annual spending, steps the agency said were necessary to cut waste and reverse what it described as partisan social policy initiatives.
A major focus of the report is fraud enforcement. The SBA said it implemented citizenship and age verification checks on all loan applications, launched the first full audit in the nearly 50-year history of the 8(a) Business Development Program, and began pursuing an estimated $200 billion in pandemic-era fraud. The agency said it is working with law enforcement to recover taxpayer funds and pursue criminal charges where appropriate.
On January 22, the SBA issued formal guidance reiterating that race-based presumptions of disadvantage in the 8(a) program are unconstitutional and unlawful. The agency said it no longer considers any business owner socially disadvantaged solely based on race and emphasized that no applicant may be denied access to government programs on that basis. SBA officials also removed the Biden-era “Guide for Demonstrating Social Disadvantage” from the agency’s website.
The SBA reported accepting just 65 new firms into the 8(a) program in 2025, compared with more than 2,100 annually during the prior administration. Since early 2025, the agency said it has suspended more than 1,000 contractors, ordered thousands of firms to submit financial records, and rescinded contracting authority from federal agencies following fraud investigations.
Separately, the SBA confirmed it has launched a new review of pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program loans issued to 38 affiliates of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The agency said the affiliates must now document their eligibility for more than $88 million in forgiven loans, warning that repayment and potential civil or criminal penalties could follow if ineligibility or false certifications are found.
The SBA said prior loan forgiveness does not prevent the agency from reopening reviews and enforcing compliance with affiliation and size standards that governed the PPP program.
The full 2025 Annual Report is available at https://www.sba.gov/annual-report/.
SBA officials said the agency is entering 2026 focused on continued deregulation, fraud enforcement, and what it calls a race-neutral, law-based approach to small business support, as small business optimism rises above its long-term average amid cooling inflation, wage growth, and increased private-sector investment.
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