A federal government program that supports minority-owned businesses has been dismantled — and one of the GOP members who fought for years to keep it alive is staying silent, according to a new report from POLITICO.
Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) used to boost the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), which was under the direction of the Commerce Department.
But, according to the news outlet, not only has President Donald Trump’s administration dismantled MBDA “in a matter of weeks,” the Senator has been completely silent on the issue.
MBDA funds grants to business owners and provides technical assistance, support and mentorship. It dates back to the Nixon administration.
In March, Trump issued an executive order requiring the MBDA to cut its staff. Since his first term, Trump has been attempting to close or significantly reduce the agency in his budget proposals.
The Politico report noted, “[MBDA] had 100% of its staff, about 50 people, placed on administrative leave or redistributed within the Commerce Department, according to a Commerce employee and a Democratic staffer granted anonymity to discuss personnel matters.”
Another Commerce Department employee noted that the only members of MBDA who remain include a deputy secretary, an acting under secretary, and a DOGE employee.
Scott was once vying to be Trump’s vice president, even appearing on the campaign trail with him. The outlet wrote, “His silence underscores the fine line he and other Black conservatives have to walk between their own interests and loyalty to the party as the administration wages a broader war against the government’s diversity-focused initiatives.”
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“They are watching this happen, and they are doing nothing. That’s cowardice. And it cuts especially deep when the people you once believed were your champions turn their backs in silence,” one of the two Commerce Department employees told the outlet.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Scott underscored for Politico his record of working with Trump to deliver “life-changing results for minority communities around the nation.”
This included the senator's efforts in Trump’s first term to secure permanent funding for historically Black colleges and universities and creating “opportunity zones” under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
The U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Labor, and the Department of Government Efficiency did not respond to Politico's requests for comment.