Kelly Loeffler serves as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, having taken the role effective February 19, 2025, according to the Paul Hastings Daily Financial Regulation Update from March 16, 2026. Linda McMahon, previously associated with small business leadership, now heads the U.S. Department of Education, effective March 3, 2025, as noted in the same Paul Hastings report. In the past few days, the Small Business Administration under Loeffler announced a major policy shift on loans. A CBS San Francisco report from March 16, 2026, details that the agency now requires small business owners applying for any SBA loan program to be U.S. citizens or nationals with their principal residence in the United States. This bars legal permanent residents, including green card holders, from accessing these guarantees, even if they operate legally and pay taxes. The change, announced a week before March 16, has sparked concern in areas like San Pablo in the Bay Area, where many businesses are immigrant-owned. Lesaly Choy, executive director of San Pablo's Economic Development Corporation, told CBS that these owners form the economic backbone, employing locals and relying on SBA-backed loans for growth amid high costs. SBA Administrator Loeffler stated, according to the report, "Our responsibility is clear: the limited resource of SBA financing must prioritize American citizens who are building businesses and creating jobs here at home." Experts highlighted impacts. Mark Herbert of CAMEO Network noted to CBS that immigrant entrepreneurs start businesses at twice the rate of U.S.-born counterparts and create two-thirds of new jobs, with only about five percent of SBA loans, or two billion dollars, going to permanent residents, who have strong repayment rates. Separately, on February 20, 2026, the SBA centralized authority for annual reviews in its eight capital a program, per a JD Supra analysis. Policy Notice number 6000-876995, signed by Associate Administrator Ryan Lambert, requires all final eligibility decisions to come from the Associate Administrator for Government Contracting and Business Development or a designee, stripping district offices of power. This follows terminations of 154 firms and aims to address oversight failures, with heightened scrutiny on business activity targets for entity-owned participants like those from Alaska Native Corporations. On March 17, 2026, OrangeSlices AI reported new mentor-protégé agreements under the SBA program, signaling alliances among over 30 IT and consulting firms for federal work. These moves reflect a focus on prioritizing citizens, tightening program rules, and fostering strategic partnerships for small businesses. Thank you for tuning in, listeners, and please remember to subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. For more http://www.quietplease.ai Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI