President Donald Trump announced Friday that he intends to nominate U.S. Treasurer Jovita Carranz to be the next leader of the Small Business Administration (SBA). The announcement came days after SBA Administrator Linda McMahon announced that she would be stepping down to enter the private sector.
Carranz served as deputy administrator of SBA under George W. Bush and was considered for the position of U.S. trade representative before being named treasurer. In her current role, Carranz oversees the Office of Consumer Policy and advises Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on U.S. Mint operations, including Fort Knox.
“I am pleased to announce that Jovita Carranza will be nominated as the new @SBAgov Administrator,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “She will be replacing Linda McMahon, who has done an outstanding job. Jovita was a great Treasurer of the United States – and I look forward to her joining my Cabinet!”
McMahon has spent two years serving as SBA’s administrator, having been one of Trump’s earliest cabinet nominees.
“I’m very proud of the work this agency has done to improve the way we connect small businesses to capital, counseling and government contracts,” McMahon said in a statement. “The focus that we have put on supporting women entrepreneurship, veteran businesses and rural development has been particularly rewarding for me.”
She noted that she is particularly proud of SBA’s “unprecedented disaster recovery efforts in 2017” in which it provided more than $7 billion in low-interest loans to help small businesses and displaced residents.
“While it has truly been the honor of a lifetime to serve our country in this administration, it is time for me to step down and return to the private sector,” McMahon said. “I am resigning my position at SBA effective April 12. I wish to thank the president and I will continue to be a strong advocate for him and his policies.”
Numerous trade associations representing banks and credit unions have praised SBA’s efforts during McMahon’s tenure and referenced the agency’s contributions to disaster relief efforts, while also highlighting the efforts by their member institutions in the aftermath of those storms.
“NAFCU is grateful for Administrator McMahon’s partnership over the past few years as we’ve worked to increase credit unions’ participation in SBA lending programs,” National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) President and CEO Dan Berger said in a statement. “Credit unions’ ability to invest in their communities and provide capital to small businesses is supported by the SBA’s programs. We look forward to continuing our work on these issues with the agency and wish Linda the best.”
There is speculation that McMahon’s decision to step down could have been politically motivated.
The New York Times reported that “[p]eople familiar with Ms. McMahon’s thinking said she was expected to take a position at the America First PAC, a political action committee supporting Mr. Trump’s re-election, where she is expected to help raise money.”
McMahon, the wife of WWE owner Vince McMahon, was among Trump’s largest donors during his 2016 presidential campaign and was chosen as SBA administrator before his term – Dec. 6, 2016 – and was confirmed in January 2017, The Times noted. She earned respect from some Democrats for her work to expand loans to women and for her efforts to increase SBA’s efficiency.