This article was written by Gus Wilson and published on <a href="https://sportandstate.com/">Sport &amp; State</a>, a new media company founded by Clay Travis that is built around sports, culture, original voices, and live conversation.
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After struggling to define what a woman is, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has announced she will be leaving the league at the end of 2026.
Engelbert told the world in a press release last week that during the heat of the ongoing argument to determine who can play in the WOMEN’S National Basketball Association, she’s gone. After avoiding the question time and time again, it will officially be someone else’s problem at the start of the new year.
Despite the ongoing crisis her league is facing, Engelbert praised the current landscape of the league in her announcement, as she told Howard Megdal of The IX Sports, “I just feel like we’re in a really good place from a variety of perspectives on the league.”
That is CERTAINLY one way to put it.
In the same piece, Engelbert said that her five brothers were encouraging her to “get out of there” because of all the backlash she was facing from this situation alone.
It’s a little bit too late for that.
Engelbert’s miscues as the first “commissioner” in the league’s history have extended long beyond this year and are apparent throughout since she stepped into the role in 2019. With her “retirement” looming, let’s take a walk down memory lane to show where she went wrong.
<h3>The Problems Were Evident From The Start</h3>
During her first year running the league, the cracks were already showing in Engelbert’s armor.
The 2020 WNBA season was played inside the “COVID bubble” in Florida. Already, she was given a strange scenario where the pandemic forced basketball games to be played in a remote environment, but this wasn’t the issue.
Kelly Loeffler, the United States Administrator of the Small Business Administration and former Republican Senator from Georgia, was the co-owner of the Atlanta Dream at the time when she told Engelbert the league should not plaster “Black Lives Matter” across the association. A minor request turned to players calling for Loeffler’s head and to be fired from the team.
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WNBA Players Escalate Protest of Anti-BLM Team Owner, Kelly Loeffler
Loeffler’s WNBA team, the Atlanta Dream, demands she be ejected from the league. Members are outraged by her racist and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, among other controversies. <a href="https://t.co/Y8MNQbf74U">https://t.co/Y8MNQbf74U</a> via <a href="https://x.com/NYTimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NYTimes</a>
— Stephanie Kennedy (@WordswithSteph) <a href="https://x.com/WordswithSteph/status/1335840912950366209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Engelbert decided to let the players take over, and they wore shirts supporting the Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock in the 2021 Senate race against Loeffler. The commissioner just sat back and watched as Loeffler sold her stake in the team.
Following the shooting of Jacob Blake that same year, players began to protest the event and Engelbert finally stepped to the light and supported said players. These comments were made strictly to save her reputation. Former WNBA athlete Layshia Clarendon told ESPN that players had to force Engelbert to actually support them.
Yes, that is the same Layshia Clarendon that played in the WNBA as a trans-man as a member of the New York Liberty, throwing a wrench into the league’s argument that only women can play in the league.
Everything really does come full circle. Engelbert’s lack of control under a league she ran was glaring.
<h3>Engelbert’s Lack Of Grasp And Connection To The Association</h3>
That was only the beginning.
Fast forward past contract negotiations and not knowing how to pronounce coaches’ names to 2025. In the same article expressing Clarendon’s exposure of Engelbert being pushed around by players, superstar Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier blew up on the commissioner.
Collier, who is the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) vice president, called the league’s leadership the “worst in the world” because of her negligence when it came to what she was being paid to do. Other players and even the president of the WNBPA, Nneka Ogwumike, publicly agreed.
In 2026, Engelbert still lacks a true governing over the WNBA.
It’s evident when you look at the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark. Since she entered the league three years ago and took it by storm, Clark is constantly being attacked and downplayed by her peers. As of two months ago, Clark had drawn eight flagrant fouls in her first 72 games, which is far and away the most in comparison to the rest of the athletes. In June of this year, the Fever guard was struck in the throat by Phoenix Mercury player Alyssa Thomas in a blatantly violent act.
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The WNBA announced Alyssa Thomas has been suspended for one game after making “reckless contact” to Caitlin Clark’s throat on this play.
WNBA players continue to play very aggressively against Clark three years into her career. <a href="https://t.co/0pWiuI7SlE">pic.twitter.com/0pWiuI7SlE</a>
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) <a href="https://x.com/esidery/status/2070226611329282452?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
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To anyone who watches basketball, this surely results in a suspension of at least a game, whether it was intentional … or not.
Engelbert was not planning on punishing Thomas in the slightest until NBA commissioner Adam Silver had to step in and persuade her to do so. How do you run a league when you can’t even make the most simple decisions?
<h3>Who Can Play In The League</h3>
The breaking point in Engelbert’s tenure is one that everyone is familiar with now. Sophie Cunningham voicing her opinion on biological men in a women’s locker room set the league on fire. Coaches and players alike vehemently disagreed with the Fever guard, some in ways more than just a verbal pushback.
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DiJonai Carrington assessed a Flagrant 2 and ejected after this hard foul on Sophie Cunningham 😳 <a href="https://t.co/1AebZMgGUi">pic.twitter.com/1AebZMgGUi</a>
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) <a href="https://x.com/LegionHoops/status/2086181936805109777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Former NBA players Royce White and Enes Kanter Freedom then declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft after coming out and telling the world they identified as women. According to stances from players and coaches from around the league, they should be deemed eligible because of how they identify, right?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://x.com/EnesFreedom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EnesFreedom</a> to <a href="https://x.com/ClayTravis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ClayTravis</a> on whether the WNBA would become the G league if men are allowed to play.
FREEDOM: &#8220;All they have to do is just go out there and say, I identify as a woman, and they will be making $1.4 million in the WNBA. Trust me, there are many players ready to… <a href="https://t.co/kQjBnvcg71">pic.twitter.com/kQjBnvcg71</a>
— The Clay Travis &amp; Buck Sexton Show (@clayandbuck) <a href="https://x.com/clayandbuck/status/2092315180881285587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Wrong. The league told White and Freedom they were not eligible for the draft, according to sources around the league. Why not? They had a woman identifying as a man play in the league five years prior in Clarendon.
There was no continuity based on past players and the stances of current players on the matter, but Engelbert didn’t say a word.
The commissioner then decided to hold a league meeting with owners and general managers to discuss biological men competing in the WNBA. Finally, a conclusion was going to be made and everyone would get an answer on the league’s next move.
Actually, the complete opposite happened. Engelbert decided on nothing, pushing the decision further down the line.
Three weeks later, she announces her retirement. The inability to make a decision on what should be a simple yes or no was the writing on the wall that her time as a commissioner would and should be coming to an end.

AT&T WNBA All-Star Game 2026

Cathy Engelbert Is Running Away From The WNBA Mess, But Damage Is Already Done

caitlin clark

cathy engelbert

kelly loeffler

sports

transgender athletes in women's sports

wnba

The Trump administration is moving to claw back tens of millions of dollars in pandemic relief that went to celebrities, music artists, and entertainment industry elites.
The Small Business Administration announced Tuesday that it has referred $34 million in outstanding Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) debt to the Treasury Department, marking the first time the federal government has referred unresolved debt from the program to the Treasury for collection.
The move is part of a broader effort by SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler to recover pandemic-era funds that the agency says were improperly awarded or remain outstanding. 
“Under the Biden Administration, the SVOG program became one of the biggest cash-grabs of the pandemic,” Loeffler said in a statement first obtained by The Daily Wire. “For the last year, the Trump SBA has been working to recoup funds meant for struggling small arts and entertainment businesses that ended up lining the pockets of celebrities, music artists, and elite talent agents.”
“Today’s $34 million referral to the Treasury Department is only the first one,” she added, saying the agency will continue using “every lawful tool to claw back unmerited SVOG payments.”
The Treasury referral comes after recipients failed to resolve outstanding repayment obligations through the SBA’s debt-resolution process. The $34 million figure includes principal, applicable administrative costs, and accrued interest. The Biden administration never referred the outstanding SVOG debts to the Treasury for collection, according to the SBA.
The SVOG program was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide emergency assistance to live venue operators, promoters, theatrical producers, performing arts organizations, museums, movie theaters, and talent representatives whose businesses were affected by pandemic-related shutdowns and revenue losses.
Congress authorized $16.25 billion for the program, with individual applicants eligible for grants of up to $10 million. 
But the program ultimately became a source of millions of dollars in federal aid for some of the entertainment industry&#8217;s wealthiest names. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lil-wayne-chris-brown-covid-relief-funds-svog-grant-2024-12">Business Insider</a> previously reported that musicians including Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Marshmello, Steve Aoki, and members of Alice in Chains received millions of dollars through the program.
Lil Wayne&#8217;s touring company received an $8.9 million grant. Records reviewed by Business Insider showed that more than $1.3 million was spent on private-jet flights and more than $460,000 on clothing and accessories, while nearly $88,000 was charged to taxpayers for a concert the rapper did not ultimately perform.
Chris Brown&#8217;s touring company received $10 million, with approximately $5.1 million going to Brown personally. His company also charged nearly $80,000 to the grant for his birthday party.
Marshmello received $9.9 million, while Steve Aoki&#8217;s touring company received millions more. Business Insider reported that Aoki&#8217;s company used approximately $1.9 million of its grant for officer pay.
The program&#8217;s rules allowed recipients to spend grant money on a broad range of authorized business expenses, including payroll and owner compensation. That meant wealthy artists could qualify through corporate entities connected to their touring operations even if they personally possessed substantial assets, provided their businesses met the program&#8217;s eligibility requirements.
The grants were intended to help keep struggling businesses in the live entertainment industry afloat during the pandemic, when venues and performances were shut down across the country.
Instead, critics have pointed to instances in which large sums flowed to already wealthy entertainers and their business managers.
The SBA now says it is attempting to recover money it determined was improperly awarded or remains subject to repayment.
The agency began issuing rescission and demand letters to SVOG recipients in June 2025. Those recipients were given opportunities to appeal the agency&#8217;s determinations or enter repayment agreements before the SBA pursued additional collection measures.
The agency says it has recovered more than $50 million through voluntary and involuntary payments since the Trump administration began its recovery effort.
The SBA said additional referrals could follow as it continues reviewing outstanding awards and resolving recipients&#8217; repayment obligations. The SBA&#8217;s Office of Inspector General identified approximately $544 million in potentially improper SVOG payments. It also found that 2,590 awards worth approximately $4.8 billion remained open more than a year after they were supposed to have been closed out.
A separate 2025 inspector general report found that 1,080 SVOG grants remained open as of May 2025, meaning the agency had not yet fully accounted for how the funds were used. Roughly two-thirds of those recipients had either failed to submit required audits or failed to respond to questions about their use of the funds.
The program&#8217;s problems began almost immediately after Congress authorized the grants.
In 2021, amid pressure from lawmakers to get money out to struggling entertainment businesses as quickly as possible, the Biden administration directed SBA personnel to “presume applicant assertions to be true” and expedited the review of applications under $500,000. As many as two-thirds of approved applicants were reportedly on the Treasury Department&#8217;s Do Not Pay List. The SBA says its current effort is intended to restore accountability and ensure that pandemic-relief programs do not become a permanent loss for taxpayers.

Untitled design (4)

EXCLUSIVE: A-Listers Got $34 Million In COVID Relief, The Trump Admin Is Trying To Get It Back

chris brown

covid19 pandemic relief

lil wayne

politics

small business administration

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration is targeting lawfare weaponized against farmers and ranchers, notably under President Joe Biden, The Daily Wire can first report.
The Department of Agriculture and the Small Business Administration will announce a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Thursday to combat weaponized regulatory and enforcement actions against American farmers, ranchers, and small businesses.
That MOU between the two agencies will fight the &#8220;abusive government overreach&#8221; and protect farmers, their families, private property, and small businesses. It builds on Pillar 4 of the Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins emphasized, &#8220;by building a government-wide shield against lawfare.&#8221;
Rollins and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler argued Thursday that radical environmentalist NGOs, government agencies, and activist groups have targeted American ranchers and farmers, forced them to pay massive sums in fines, to give up their best grazing lands, and to sell generational properties.
&#8220;This is a really, really important issue, for our rural America, for farmers and ranchers, and what has taken place over a number of decades,&#8221; Rollins told The Daily Wire in a phone interview on Thursday morning, describing how &#8220;the government at all levels, federal, state, local,&#8221; under both Republicans and Democrats, has taken &#8220;our ranching, our farming land, even our small businesses.&#8221; 
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1127553" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-administration-targets-lawfare-against-farmers-ranchers/president-trump-speaks-to-farmers-at-the-white-house" rel="attachment wp-att-1127553"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1127553" class="wp-image-1127553 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2268649947-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2268649947-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2268649947-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2268649947-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2268649947.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>U.S. President Donald Trump speaks from the Truman balcony during an event with farmers on the South Lawn of the White House on March 27, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)</div>
Rollins pointed to numerous cases in which the government — spurred by environmental initiatives or corporate interests — took American homes and farmland. She specifically pointed to the Maude case, which involved fifth-generation ranchers from South Dakota whose property had been in their family for more than 100 years. President Joe Biden&#8217;s Justice Department targeted Charles and Heather Maude, indicting them both on felony charges of theft of government property over a fence dispute.
Both Charles and Heather Maude were horrified to find that they were indicted separately, Rollins explained, facing up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines each. A judge even restricted the couple from discussing the case with one another and required them to hire separate defense attorneys.
The case sparked national outcry, particularly among agricultural advocacy groups and lawmakers who understood the agricultural landscape, and under the Trump USDA and DOJ, the charges were dropped in April 2025.
&#8220;They were bankrupted, basically, because of their legal fees,&#8221; Rollins explained. The Trump administration quickly brought the Maudes to Washington and has helped them share their story. Rollins believes it is an example of how &#8220;at some point government has gotten too big and too weaponized,&#8221; and action must be taken to protect American liberty. 
In a Thursday morning phone interview with The Daily Wire, Loeffler explained that the MOU will formalize what she and Rollins have been doing informally for the last year and a half — &#8220;advocating for what is America&#8217;s original small business, which is farming.&#8221; 
Ninety-eight percent of Americans used to be farmers, Loeffler pointed out, and now that figure has plummeted to 2%. 
&#8220;I can only imagine how difficult it is now being there amid the radical environmental push that is playing out on our farmlands, our ranching lands across this country,&#8221; she shared.
The partnership between the SBA and USDA will seek to give farmers a voice on par with the federal government, Loeffler told The Daily Wire, &#8220;mobilizing an all-of-government approach behind farmers and ranchers and to stand up against the radical environmental movements and other movements that want to displace our farmers and ranchers, not just their operations, but their livelihoods.&#8221; 
Rollins and Loeffler will share the news during a presser Thursday morning with Special Envoy for American Ranchers John Rich, Director of the Bureau of Land Management Stevan Pearce, Representative Harriet Hageman, Representative Eli Crane, and producers and ranchers.

President Trump Holds Wildfire Briefing

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Administration Targets Lawfare Against Farmers, Ranchers

brooke rollins

farmers

President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats agree to a deal as Friday&#8217;s midnight deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown approaches, border czar Tom Homan puts anti-ICE activists on notice, and a federal minority contracting program bans more than a thousand companies after they refuse to prove they did any work.
It’s Friday, January 30, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Government Shutdown Averted?</h2>
The White House and Senate Democrats say they’ve <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-and-senate-dems-strike-deal-ahead-of-government-shutdown">reached</a> a deal to avert a government shutdown as the Friday deadline inches closer. The deal would fund most government departments through September 30 and, in the short term, fund the Department of Homeland Security through a continuing resolution that expires after two weeks. In those two weeks, lawmakers are expected to negotiate over reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. President Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday evening, saying, “I am working hard with Congress to ensure that we are able to fully fund the Government, without delay.” He went on to say that he hopes “both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote.” The deal hit a snag on Thursday night as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/29/shutdown-spending-deal-trump-00756372">reportedly</a> blocked a vote over &#8220;a House-passed provision undoing a law that allows senators to receive cash payouts if they had their phone records seized by former special counsel Jack Smith,&#8221; according to POLITICO.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Homan Vows Activist Crackdown</h2>
Border czar Tom Homan is putting anti-ICE activists on notice that they will be held accountable for obstructing law enforcement. Homan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/homans-presser-sheds-light-on-trump-admins-shift-on-minneapolis-immigration-raids">took</a> the podium on Thursday for his first significant public remarks since being sent to clean up the mess in Minnesota. And he seemed to have a two-fold message. First, to make it clear that law and order are going to be restored. He pledged to remain on the ground “until the problem’s gone.” Then Homan also made it clear that despite the bad press coming from the shooting deaths of anti-ICE activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti, he’s not going to be deterred from investigating activist networks. Meanwhile, Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar is entering the race for governor. She first filed papers a week ago, but the incredibly bad optics of the chaos on the ground in Minneapolis again – the city was ground zero for Black Lives Matter unrest in 2020 – gives Klobuchar a chance to showcase herself as a moderate who will restore order.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Government Contracting Fraud Exposed</h2>
One thousand companies were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-quarter-of-minority-contracting-firms-banned-after-refusing-anti-fraud-check?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=A+Quarter+Of+%E2%80%98Minority+Contracting%E2%80%99+Firms+Banned+After+Refusing+Anti-Fraud+Check">banned</a> from the federal minority contracting program on Wednesday after they declined to provide records showing whether they were actually performing the work or simply keeping a cut while passing the contract to a larger company. The program is known as 8(a). Last month, Kelly Loeffler, the head of the Small Business Administration, which issues <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-military-gave-a-homeless-lesbians-minority-contracting-firm-19-million">8(a)</a> status, demanded that all firms provide bank statements and payroll records. It would have been a lot of work for the SBA to go through all those records. But the agency didn’t need to look at many at all, because a lot of fraudsters may have self-identified by choosing not to turn over records that would incriminate them. A quarter of all 8(a) firms, collectively receiving $5 billion over the last four years, didn’t turn anything in.

MRN_260130_V1

Morning Brief: Homan Puts Anti-ICE Activists On Notice & Government Shutdown Averted?

government shutdown

minnesota

Morning Wire

senate

tom homan

white house

Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler said Thursday that nearly 7,000 people in Minnesota could face prosecution over potentially fraudulent federal loans taken during the COVID pandemic. 
Loeffler said her team had identified around $400 million in loans that may have been fraudulently obtained through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. As a result, 6,900 borrowers in Minnesota were suspended from participating in SBA loan programs and could face further punishment. 
“Over the last week, SBA has reviewed thousands of potentially fraudulent pandemic-era PPP and EIDL loans approved in Minnesota,” Loeffler <a href="https://x.com/SBA_Kelly/status/2006893291241980325">posted</a> on X. “Today, our agency took action to suspend 6,900 Minnesota borrowers amid suspected fraudulent activity. In total, these borrowers were approved for 7,900 PPP and EIDL loans worth approximately $400M.”
She added that some individuals could be referred for federal prosecution. 
“These individuals will be banned from all SBA loan programs, including disaster loans, going forward. We will also refer every case, where appropriate, to federal law enforcement for prosecution and repayment,” she said. “After years, the American people will finally begin to see the criminals who stole from law-abiding taxpayers held accountable — and this is just the first state.”
Loeffler’s announcement comes as Minnesota faces a flurry of federal probes into alleged widespread fraud at purported daycare centers. In response, the Department of Health and Human Services <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-freezes-all-child-care-payments-to-minnesota-amid-daycare-fraud-scandal">froze</a> all child care payments to the state on Tuesday. At the same time, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said more fraud prosecutions would follow. 
The Trump administration is also looking into an alleged scheme where parents have their child falsely diagnosed with autism at clinics where no such evaluations are performed. Much of the investigation has focused on the Somali immigrant community in the state, with 85 of the 98 people charged by the feds in fraud cases being of Somali descent. 
Democrat Governor Tim Walz has defended his record on fighting fraud, claiming that President Donald Trump was attempting to justify cutting off funding for his state.
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Reports have found COVID-era relief efforts rife with fraud. <a href="https://www.oversight.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/2023-06/SBA-OIG-Report-23-09.pdf">According</a> to the Small Business Administration Inspector General, at least $200 billion in potentially fraudulent handouts were disbursed, representing approximately 17% of all funds distributed through the PPP and EIDL programs. 
“The allure of ‘easy money’ in this pay and chase environment attracted an overwhelming number of fraudsters to the programs. [The inspector general’s] continuing reviews pertaining to oversight of SBA’s pandemic response have identified multiple weaknesses in controls that allowed fraudsters to take advantage of the economic crisis and divert funding intended for deserving, eligible American small business owners,” an inspector general report from June 2023 found.

Minnesota Public Schools Begin Year Days After Mass Shooting

Trump Admin Uncovers Another $400 Million In Suspected Minnesota Fraud

fraud

trump administration

A new lawsuit aims to end the government&#8217;s practice of assuming that people of certain races are &#8220;socially disadvantaged&#8221; and entitled to special benefits.
The case was brought on behalf of Revier Technologies, an artificial intelligence company that was denied a &#8220;Small Business Credit Initiative&#8221; subsidy because its owner, Matthew Schultheis, is white, and Young America&#8217;s Foundation, a conservative group that said the interns in its college program were barred from a Department of Homeland Security fellowship that relied on SBA&#8217;s &#8220;disadvantaged&#8221; classification.
Agencies across the federal government rely on a decades-old Small Business Administration designation that, according to federal regulation, automatically applies to anyone of certain races.
&#8220;The federal government’s pervasive use of race as a proxy for determining who is &#8216;socially disadvantaged&#8217; — and therefore who receives contracts, grants, loans, investment capital, opportunities, and other benefits — is unconstitutional, and it must be stopped,&#8221; the suit says.
The move comes as decades-old affirmative action programs are being ruled unconstitutional one by one. Center for Individual Rights attorney Mike Petrino told The Daily Wire that his suit targets a central regulation that is relied on by at least 20 different government programs. That is the SBA&#8217;s 8(a) designation, which takes its name from a 1953 law and is fleshed out in regulations, with no significant updates since 1998.
The longstanding government rule won&#8217;t pass constitutional muster under recent jurisprudence, including a landmark Supreme Court case on affirmative action at Harvard, the lawsuit argues.
Precedent requires that racial reparations be &#8220;narrowly tailored,&#8221; but the list of races given preference under SBA regulations is not based on any data about specific groups facing discrimination in specific industries, the suit said.
&#8220;As just some examples, Uyghur heritage from Kyrgyzstan is not presumed &#8216;socially disadvantaged,&#8217; but Han Chinese heritage is. Pakistanis are in; Afghans are out. And because &#8216;Hispanic American&#8217; includes anyone of Spanish origin, the lineal descendants of the conquistadors are presumed socially disadvantaged.&#8221;
Courts have held that race-based programs must also have a “logical end point.” SBA has never removed a minority group from its list and &#8220;does not have criteria to evaluate whether a group should be removed from this list because it is no longer suffering the present effects of past discrimination,&#8221; the suit said.
The November 17 <a href="https://cir-usa.org/cases/ending-race-based-discrimination-across-federal-benefits-programs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a>, filed in federal court in Louisiana, names as defendants SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler and Attorney General Pam Bondi. It could lead to a court ruling that would end racial giveaways in government — perhaps with a third-party group intervening to defend the practice–or to the Trump administration settling the lawsuit by changing federal rules. SBA spokeswoman Caitlin O&#8217;Dea did not return a request for comment.
The 8(a) language was written to implement a government-wide &#8220;minority contracting&#8221; program that &#8220;set aside&#8221; a percentage of all federal contracts, totaling tens of billions of dollars, for disadvantaged businesses. In 2020, Center for Individual Rights lawyers sued on behalf of a white-owned company that lost out on government contracts during the first Trump administration, alleging that the government&#8217;s tying race to &#8220;disadvantaged&#8221; status was illegal.
For decades, courts had made clear that directly race-based government programs were constitutional, and SBA claimed it skirted that issue by affording minorities only a &#8220;rebuttable presumption&#8221; that they were disadvantaged. In other words, minorities would have less paperwork to complete, but a process was still in place to ensure that, for example, the child of a Chinese billionaire wouldn&#8217;t be considered to have suffered discrimination in America.
The 2018 case exposed that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/core-part-of-minority-contracting-program-is-illegal-judge-said" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this was false</a>: A process to rebut the disadvantaged status didn&#8217;t even exist.
In July 2023, a judge issued a preliminary injunction forcing the SBA to change the way it chose which companies were &#8220;disadvantaged&#8221; for purposes of awarding government contracts. But the actual regulation was never changed, and other programs that piggybacked on it are still using it.
The Biden administration complied with the injunction by requiring potential 8(a) contractors to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250208164952/https://sbaone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CKB/pages/2768076819/Guide+for+Writing+a+Social+Disadvantage+Narrative" target="_blank" rel="noopener">write victimhood essays</a> describing how they had personally experienced discrimination in any aspect of life because of &#8220;racial, ethnic, or cultural bias within American society.&#8221;
The Department of Transportation also runs its own minority contracting program. The SBA and Transportation programs together likely make up the most lucrative race-based government programs in history. In 2021, 10% of all surface transportation money, more than $37 billion, was earmarked for &#8220;disadvantaged&#8221; companies.
But in September 2024, that program was also hit with a preliminary injunction amid claims that the program violates the Constitution&#8217;s equal protection clause, though it applied only to the companies that were parties in the case.
In May 2025, the Trump administration told a Kentucky judge it agreed that “the DBE program&#8217;s use of race- and sex-based presumptions of social and economic disadvantage &#8230; violates the equal protection component of the Due Process Clause.&#8221; Solicitor General D. John Sauer, who argues for the federal government before the Supreme Court, said he determined that his department would not defend the law.
In October 2025, the Trump administration&#8217;s transportation department enacted an interim final <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/10/03/2025-19460/disadvantaged-business-enterprise-program-and-disadvantaged-business-enterprise-in-airport" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rule</a> that &#8220;eliminates presumptive eligibility based on race or sex and requires applicants to submit individualized evidence of social disadvantage.&#8221;
Petrino, the lawyer suing SBA, said the young, white business owner he represents could be considered under such a process without having his race held against him. &#8220;Our client from Louisiana is from a humble background, he&#8217;s faced struggles in life, he&#8217;s socially disadvantaged.&#8221;
It is unclear how the government could objectively verify, rank, and evaluate such claims, and whether the essays will merely be a pretext that results in essentially the same outcome: Preference given to minorities who write that they are disadvantaged because of their race. SBA has not responded to questions about the essays.
The set-aside contracting scheme has led to corruption as those who secure an inside track to government contracts often morph into influence-peddlers who rent out that access to &#8220;partners&#8221; or subcontractors–non-disadvantaged firms who do much of the actual work. The ability of government officers to steer funds directly to specific companies, without competitive bidding, has also facilitated <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usaid-800m-migration-feds-bribes">bribery</a>.
Eliminating the existence of the set-aside programs, instead of just how they use race, would require an act of Congress, Petrino said. In the meantime, billions of dollars in government business are likely to be awarded based on essays written by business owners about their plight. The government already has a separate program reserving contracts for small businesses, the easiest and most objective way to ensure that someone is not privileged.
Last month, Loeffler, the SBA head, <a href="https://x.com/SBA_Kelly/status/1989805215919554580">said</a> a full review of the 8(a) program was underway, with an eye towards eliminating fraud. &#8220;For years, bureaucrats have turned a blind eye to rampant abuse within the contracting program for &#8216;socially and economically disadvantaged&#8217; small businesses,&#8221; she wrote, referencing a Daily Wire story. &#8220;That ends now – as SBA works to complete its full-scale audit of the 8(a) Program.&#8221;

Kelly Loeffler Appears For Nomination Hearing To Be Next SBA Administrator

New Lawsuit Could Topple The Heart Of Race-Based Federal Programs

Minority Contracting

NATO ups its support for Ukraine as the United States pursues peace talks, the Trump administration freezes asylum and visa reviews from 19 countries, and a watchdog exposes billions of taxpayer dollars in fraud under Biden-era diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
It’s Thursday, December 4, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251204-member-exclusive">video version</a> can be seen on The Daily Wire:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nato-pressures-putin-trumps-immigration-freeze-12-4-25/id1576594336?i=1000739652455" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">NATO Wants A Say On Ukraine</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1009649 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/NATO-Backs-Ukraine-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/NATO-Backs-Ukraine-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/NATO-Backs-Ukraine-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/NATO-Backs-Ukraine-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/NATO-Backs-Ukraine-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/NATO-Backs-Ukraine.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Topline: The United States continues to facilitate talks between Russia and Ukraine while other NATO countries rally support for Kiev.
NATO wants to be more involved in the discussions on Ukraine than it has been recently. Almost every foreign minister for NATO met in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss that and the broader approach to Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was notably absent from the meeting — the first time in over two decades that the U.S. secretary of State had missed a gathering like this. Though that didn’t deeply concern many officials because Rubio has built up a lot of trust among NATO allies. 
Rutte digs in: The United States has been trying to find an end to the war that both sides can live with. But NATO’s secretary-general, Mark Rutte, has made plans to keep funding Ukraine through 2026 and maybe longer if necessary.
“We have to make sure that whilst [peace talks] take place and we are not sure when they will end, that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going, to fight back against the Russians, but also in the strongest possible position when peace talks really get to a point where they sit at the table,” Rutte <a href="https://x.com/TRTWorldNow/status/1996176461934534920">said</a> on Wednesday.
Some members of the NATO alliance have poured money into a program to buy U.S. weapons for Ukraine to the tune of about $1 billion a month.
Moscow talks: The Kremlin said Tuesday that it couldn’t find a compromise it could agree with after U.S. officials met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow said that some of the American proposals have been good — likely in reference to the early framework that received so much pushback from Ukraine and the rest of Europe.
Moscow seems to be dead set on territorial gains over what it has control of already, however. Putin has repeatedly signaled that he wants all of the Donbas region, which he does not have full control over.
50% off DailyWire+ annual memberships will not return for another year, so don’t miss this deal! Join now at <a href="http://dailywire.com/cyberweek">DailyWire.com/cyberweek</a>.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump’s Immigration Moves After National Guard Shooting</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1009647 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Topline: The Trump administration halts more immigration following the D.C. shooting of two National Guard troops by an Afghan migrant.
Trump has already halted the processing of asylum applications and put a pause on visas, but there is a lot more being done. The Trump administration has directed U.S. citizenship and immigration services to look at 19 countries that it says are of concern as potential hotbeds of terrorism. Those countries include Afghanistan and several others in the Middle East, in Africa, and in South Asia.
The Trump administration wants USCIS, the agency that vets immigration applications, to scrutinize individuals who are applying or have been accepted to some programs. What this looks like in practice is the administration halting all processing of any legal immigration applications from individuals from these 19 countries.
For those who have been accepted to become green card recipients or citizens already, swearing in ceremonies have been put on pause as the Trump administration more thoroughly vets them.
National Guard shooting: The Department of Homeland Security now says this individual was barely vetted. Interestingly, when the United States left Afghanistan during the botched withdrawal from the country, the alleged shooter had no criminal background check. Nor did he have a biometrics check, cyber background check, or financial background check.
Nor was he the only one who came through this way. There were about 77,000 others admitted into the country through what&#8217;s called Operation Allies Welcome.
This lax vetting has already been pointed out before. A government watchdog came out months after the withdrawal and said the vetting was poor and minimal at the time. In some known cases, individuals were “vetted,” let into the country through this program, and then only after were their links to terrorism discovered.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The SBA Program Spending Taxpayer Money On DEI</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1009645" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: New investigations from Peter Schweizer’s Government Accountability Institute have revealed just how much taxpayer money has been funneled through federal DEI initiatives – sparking more allegations of widespread fraud and corruption under the Biden administration that still needs to be rooted out.
Morning Wire spoke with Seamus Bruner, director of research at the Government Accountability Institute, about what&#8217;s being called the “DEI Industrial Complex.” (This interview has been edited for clarity.)
Morning Wire: Your team has done extensive research on what&#8217;s being called the “DEI Industrial Complex.” We&#8217;ve had our own investigative reporter, Luke Rosiak, digging into this and revealing some pretty alarming findings. First, what kinds of potential abuses are we seeing related to DEI in the federal government?
Bruner: This our latest exposé, and we give Luke a great shout out in it. He&#8217;s done amazing work on this Small Business Administration program. It&#8217;s called 8(a). Kind of an unwieldy title, but the devil is in the details with this. It&#8217;s a multi-billion dollar pass through scheme that rewards minority contractors or people who are “disadvantaged,” which has a very loose definition. I mean, perhaps even just not having access to internet when you&#8217;re way up in your mountain cabin in Yosemite or wherever could qualify you. But you have these firms that set up, Native American firms or any other sort of minority group — Native Americans have been pretty blessed by this program to the tune of billions of dollars. And it turns out that they&#8217;re not disadvantaged at all. The shareholders wear Rolex watches and are very wealthy. Well, in turn, this allows them to partner with real big firms like the Boston Consulting Group or McKinsey &amp; Company or firms that are not at all disadvantaged, and they receive no bid contracts under this program. And for anybody who knows anything about a no bid contract, it&#8217;s about as corrupt as it can be.
Morning Wire: Right. Why are we just now learning about this corruption?
Bruner: The program has been around for decades, but only under the Biden administration did the quotas triple. It really exploded just in the last several years. There was a USAID program, the contracting officials at USAID were taking bribes, over $1 million in bribes. We&#8217;ve also seen a $100 million contract. The minority contractor got 65% of that $100 million. So, well over $50 million. They only did a small fraction of the work.
Morning Wire: Do you think the DEI movement in particular really ratcheted this up – is that the culprit here in terms of the scale that we&#8217;re seeing now?
Bruner: Yeah, absolutely. President Trump, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, and Treasury Secretary Bessent deserve credit. They really kicked off the investigations into this. The problem is that even though the Trump administration has declared war on DEI in the federal government, this isn&#8217;t necessarily called a “DEI program.” We&#8217;re seeing this across all kinds of sectors, especially in education. They&#8217;re getting rid of the word “DEI” and they&#8217;re using new words – “disadvantaged” or what have you. And the problem is, that there are “disadvantaged” people in America and we do want to support them and help them. But when you are giving multi-billion dollar conglomerates contracts under the banner of being “disadvantaged,” it hurts everybody.

MRN_251204_V!

Morning Brief: NATO Steps Up For Ukraine, Trump Expands Immigration Crackdown, & More Biden DEI Fraud

Morning Brief: NATO Steps Up For Ukraine, Trump Expands Immigration Crackdown, And SBA Funds DEI

afghanistan

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

donald trump

immigration

joe biden

marco rubio

nato

russia

ukraine

Congress gears up for a fight over the fate of Obamacare, Hollywood suffers a monstrous slump, and a federal contracting program aimed at minority-owned businesses fields fraud accusations.
It’s Friday, November 14, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251114-member-exclusive">video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/obamacare-battle-brews-hollywood-suffers-slump-11-14-25/id1576594336?i=1000736722424" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Lawmakers Prepare For Battle Over Obamacare</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000675" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Obamacare-Reckoning-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Obamacare-Reckoning-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Obamacare-Reckoning-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Obamacare-Reckoning-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Obamacare-Reckoning-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Obamacare-Reckoning.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: With the shutdown finally ended, the fight between Democrats and Republicans over healthcare subsidies and the fate of Obamacare is only ramping up.
Obamacare subsidies were expanded in 2021 during the COVID pandemic. The subsidies, which are technically tax credits, were supposed to last only 2 years, but Democrats extended them through the end of this year.
Currently, about 24 million Americans are on Obamacare plans, up from 11 million at the start of the pandemic. It’s a considerable increase, mainly due to subsidies. It’s <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-would-eliminating-0-marketplace-premiums-affect-insurance-coverage/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">estimated</a> that about 42% of 2025 Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollees pay less than $10 a month, with a vast majority paying nothing at all. Notably, Democrats removed the income cap on subsidy eligibility, so people earning over 400% of the federal poverty level qualify for these subsidies, too.
The cost: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says that extending the subsidies through 2035 would increase the federal deficit by about $358 billion.
Democrats’ message: Democrats reportedly want to make the midterms about healthcare. Their message is that inaction from Republicans will drive up healthcare costs for millions of Americans.
Morning Wire spoke to Ryan Long, a Senior Research Fellow at Paragon Health Institute, to explain all of this. He said that if these subsidies expire as scheduled, people on ACA plans will once again return to paying something, even if it’s just a small amount, instead of having access to $0 plans. Those $0 plans, he said, have actually led to widespread fraud and abuse.
GOP’s message: Republicans generally want the subsidies to expire when the Democrats scheduled them to expire. They argue that Obamacare is a failure and needs serious reforms or a complete overhaul. Premiums, for example, rose <a href="https://www.cms.gov/cciio/resources/forms-reports-and-other-resources/downloads/uninsured-affordability-in-marketplace.pdf">143%</a> in the first six years after the ACA took effect. Next year, premiums are set to rise another <a href="https://www.kff.org/quick-take/aca-insurers-are-raising-premiums-by-an-estimated-26-but-most-enrollees-could-see-sharper-increases-in-what-they-pay/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">26%</a>.
As for the fate of Obamacare, President Donald Trump has ramped up calls to move on from the “Obamacare madness.”
&#8220;I am calling today for insurance companies NOT to be paid. But for this massive amount of money be paid directly to the people so they can buy their own healthcare,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1988810290767548793?s=20">said</a> Trump.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Hollywood’s Serious Slump</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000673" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Silver-Screen-Slump-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Silver-Screen-Slump-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Silver-Screen-Slump-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Silver-Screen-Slump-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Silver-Screen-Slump-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Silver-Screen-Slump.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: Hollywood is in a major slump, with October marking the worst box office revenues in nearly 30 years. Even Halloween weekend, usually a horror cash machine, failed to draw audiences.
With the exception of the COVID-19 shutdown year of 2020, when theaters were closed, October was the worst box-office month since 1997. Halloween weekend had the worst earnings in 31 years. The biggest culprit appears to be the lack of must-see content.
The numbers: Disney’s &#8220;Tron: Ares&#8221; opened to $38 million — the franchise’s worst debut. A24’s &#8220;The Smashing Machine&#8221; with Dwayne Johnson got $11 million. The Bruce Springsteen biopic earned $9 million. The total October take was $425 million.
The first couple of releases of November aren’t faring any better. &#8220;Christie,&#8221; starring Sydney Sweeney, came out last week and was a major flop. Some are suggesting politics played a role, but given Sweeney’s popularity, that isn’t very likely. The most probable explanation is that Sweeney’s young male fan base wasn’t especially interested in seeing her look nothing like herself playing a boxer.
Expert says: Veteran Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1489424842344237">told</a> finance outlet, Cheddar News, that a couple of Japanese anime movies outperformed expectations, and without them, the story here would be even worse.
“There was just nothing commercially exciting enough to mainstream audiences to drive them in huge numbers. And you know, last year, there was a Venom movie that opened at $50 million in October. We didn&#8217;t have that this year. And so I think that definitely hurt the box office,” said Dergarabedian.
The deeper issues: The ongoing disruption of streaming and social media is always at play, but not necessarily in the way typically thought. Many veteran filmmakers are starting to talk about the problem of what gets greenlit — they say studios are playing it safe and aren’t willing to gamble on creative, out-of-the-box ideas, so audiences are getting tired of seeing the same old thing.
Directors like Michael Bay and James Cameron are warning that something bigger may be broken. In an interview a few months ago, Bay voiced frustration over what he called “a system afraid of risk.” Now, he’s the king of big-studio blockbusters, but he said he’s moving into independent filmmaking so he can be more creative.
And he said that Cameron told him that no individual executives are empowered to greenlight anything anymore. The result is too many sequels, too few original ideas, and a growing reliance on algorithms to decide what gets made.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Crackdown On Minority Contracting Fraud</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1000671" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Contracting-Crackdown-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Contracting-Crackdown-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Contracting-Crackdown-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Contracting-Crackdown-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Contracting-Crackdown-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Contracting-Crackdown.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The Trump administration is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-crack-down-on-minority-contracting-schemes-d-c-s-worst-kept-secret">turning</a> its eye on a long-running DEI program that may be one of Washington’s most corrupt. The federal government awards a percentage of contracts to companies whose owners are “socially disadvantaged.” But they might not even be the ones doing the work. 
At issue is a process known as 8(a) contracting or “set-aside” contracting, where certain contracts, which could be for tens of millions of dollars, are either given to one company with no competition, or limited so that only “disadvantaged” companies are eligible to compete – essentially, racial minorities and women-owned companies.
This way of contracting is likely behind much of the poor performance in government, such as websites seeming old-fashioned and broken. But this has been the way Washington works for decades. Typically, GOP-favored interest groups such as disabled veterans and Alaskan native corporations have gotten a share. And then big, non-minority-owned companies end up doing much of the actual work as subcontractors.
ATI: One company, ATI Government Solutions, seemed to admit to the cozy dealmaking in an <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1981042870460252398">expose</a> put out by undercover activist James O’Keefe last month.
ATI is a company that gets contracts because it’s owned by Native Americans, though on ATI’s website, all the executives listed appear to be white.
The website is almost entirely focused on selling the idea that it’s easier for government officials to skip holding a competition to find the best company for a job. Meanwhile, big companies can get a shortcut to a government contract by working with ATI, which essentially has an automatic in because it’s partly owned by an Indian tribe.
Seems sus: Kelly Loeffler, the head of the Small Business Administration, said there’s a “full review of the 8(a) program” underway that has found “institutionalized abuse” to the tune of billions.
Loeffler said ATI’s CEO, Firmadge Crutchfield, had a network of seven companies, all of which had been suspended from receiving new contracts, and that their names were provided to law enforcement. 
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, said the Biden administration tripled the goal for minority set-asides from 5% to 15%, and did little to make sure they were actually doing the work, instead of serving as pass-throughs. 
“Small business contracting programs were never intended to function as welfare systems for favored classes or give no-bid contracts to do-nothing companies,” Ernst said, adding that over the decades, “penalties against rulebreakers have not been swiftly and resolutely imposed.”

MRN_251114_V1

Morning Brief: Obamacare Battle Brews, Hollywood Slump, & D.C.’s DEI Rackets

hollywood

obamacare

sydney sweeney

Washington D.C.

For decades, a portion of all federal contracts has been &#8220;set aside&#8221; for minority- and women-owned businesses, which can be awarded millions of dollars with little or no competition.
The 8(a) program, operated by the Small Business Administration, is meant to help &#8220;socially and economically disadvantaged businesses.&#8221; But in practice, the program has led to open corruption and the waste of hundreds of billions of dollars, with &#8220;disadvantaged&#8221; firms often simply &#8220;partnering&#8221; with a non-minority firm that owns 49% of the company, but does much of the work.
Take ATI Government Solutions, a firm that claimed Native American ownership to get 8(a) status. Its website focuses on its &#8220;Tribal Advantage: <a href="https://atisolutions.us/tribal-advantage/">Procurement Advantages</a> for Government and Industry by Partnering with ATI,&#8221; even though all the executives listed on its <a href="https://atisolutions.us/team/">leadership page</a> appear to be white.
Last month, <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1981042870460252398" target="_blank" rel="noopener">O’Keefe Media Group</a> published an undercover video in which Anish Abraham, senior director at ATI Government Solutions, acknowledged that his company was a “pass-through” that got a $100 million contract, kept $65 million, and paid another firm $45 million to do the work.
Melayne Cromwell, a black woman who previously worked as director of contracts at ATI, was also captured saying the firm only does 20% of the work. “A lot of our subcontractors bid on contracts that were perfect in their industry, but because they weren’t Native American, they wouldn’t win it, so we bid on it for them, and they became our subcontractor,” she said.
Now, top officials say set-aside contracting, a mainstay of the Washington swamp, could be changing for good.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), the chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business, wrote to SBA&#8217;s inspector general October 30, saying &#8220;over the years an egregious pattern has emerged where a special subset of 8(a) participants, the &#8216;Super 8(a)’s,&#8217; may be taking undue advantage of their ability to obtain sole-source awards in unlimited amounts.&#8221;
&#8220;I request the SBA OIG immediately investigate ATI, its Super 8(a) parent entity Susanville Indian Rancheria, and its network of 8(a) subsidiaries,&#8221; she wrote in a letter obtained by The Daily Wire.
On Saturday, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said that &#8220;As part of our ongoing investigation into ATI Government Solutions, SBA has uncovered and now suspended a network of SEVEN additional companies connected to its CEO Firmadge Crutchfield.&#8221;
&#8220;Their names have been provided to law enforcement. Thank you to every federal agency that has joined us in the effort to crack down on fraud in the 8(a) Program for &#8216;socially and economically disadvantaged&#8217; small businesses.&#8221;
Ernst told The Daily Wire &#8220;I will not rest until every last fraudster is held accountable and the program is reformed. Administrator Loeffler has done a tremendous job and I am confident that she will ensure that exploitation of the SBA’s small business programs is no longer excused or overlooked.”
Ernst said in her letter that the Biden administration &#8220;tripled the 8(a) contracting goals from 5 percent to 15 percent,&#8221; but when she requested reports that are required to be filed with the SBA by certain minority-contracting firms to monitor for fraud, she found that &#8220;Biden’s SBA failed to track and retain them.&#8221;
&#8220;It is obvious that the Biden Administration’s indifference toward meaningful oversight in the 8(a) program allowed swindlers and fraudsters to treat federal contracting programs like personal piggy banks&#8230; Small business contracting programs were never intended to function as welfare systems for favored classes or give no-bid contracts to do-nothing companies,&#8221; she wrote.
&#8220;Penalties against rulebreakers have not been swiftly and resolutely imposed. Deterrence has completely failed&#8230; This stops now,&#8221; she continued.
She requested &#8220;All documents and communications related to any disciplinary or corrective actions SBA has taken on 8(a) firms over the last 5 years, including suspensions, disbarments, and removals from the 8(a) Program initiated by the SBA,&#8221; and asked:
<ul class="ul-list" data-mark="*">
<li class="md-list-item">When would a contractor be suspected of violating the limitations on subcontracting?</li>
</ul>
<ul class="ul-list" data-mark="*">
<li class="md-list-item">What is the specific process that occurs when a prime contractor is suspected of having violated the limitations on subcontracting, up to and including resolution?</li>
</ul>
<ul class="ul-list" data-mark="*">
<li class="md-list-item">Have any contractors been found to have violated the limitations on subcontracting over the last 5 years?</li>
</ul>
Ernst also wrote to the SBA&#8217;s Inspector General, who has found abuse of minority contracting programs for decades.
She said there is little reason to believe anyone is actually tracking whether the minority-owned company actually does at least half of the work, as required, rather than having their &#8220;partner&#8221; or subcontractors do it.
&#8220;While this requirement is designed to restrict small businesses from acting as pass-through companies for ineligible firms, in practice, weak enforcement of this rule leaves the door open for abuse,&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;In the coming days and months, I expect to see significant 8(a)-related accountability actions and investigations initiated.&#8221;
In June, Walter Barnes III, the founder of contractor Vistant (previously known as PM Consulting Group, or PMCG), pleaded guilty to paying bribes in exchange for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usaid-800m-migration-feds-bribes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$544 million</a> in USAID contracts. The court documents established that Barnes&#8217; firm got contracts through being a black-owned firm; then, when it earned so many millions of dollars that it &#8220;graduated&#8221; from the 8(a) program, it would enter into 49%-51% &#8220;partnerships&#8221; with other firms that still had disadvantaged status. A USAID contracting official was able to ensure that contracts went to the people who paid him bribes because his minority status gave him the power to &#8220;sole-source&#8221; awards, instead of being obligated to give it to the lowest-price firm.
This year, the Justice Department stated that Vistant, as a corporation, was guilty, but granted it a deferred prosecution agreement. Despite more than a half-billion dollars going to a firm that was involved in massive fraud, the company is still eligible for contracts, and the government has continued to send it work through partnerships with &#8220;disadvantaged&#8221; firms.
The Daily Wire reported in June that the government allowed Vistant to tap into potential contracts amounting to as much as $800 million through a partnership with CollaborateUp, a &#8220;small business&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usaid-800m-migration-feds-bribes">operating out of a house</a>.

SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler and Senate Small Business Chair Joni Ernst

Feds Crack Down On Minority Contracting Schemes, D.C.’s Worst-Kept Secret

joni ernst

President-elect Donald Trump announced late on Wednesday that he has nominated business leader and former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) to be the next administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA).
&#8220;Kelly will bring her experience in business and Washington to reduce red tape, and unleash opportunity for our Small Businesses to grow, innovate, and thrive,&#8221; Trump said in a statement. &#8220;She will focus on ensuring that SBA is accountable to Taxpayers by cracking down on waste, fraud, and regulatory overreach.&#8221;
Trump praised Loeffler as a &#8220;tremendous fighter&#8221; when she served in the U.S. Senate during his first term in office, noting that she helped pass the first-ever bill to protect women in sports.
&#8220;Prior to her tenure in the U.S. Senate, Kelly built a 25 year career in financial services and technology,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;Along with her amazing husband, Jeff, she helped build a Fortune 500 company from 100 employees to over 10,000, as Executive VP. She and Jeff also helped me secure the Big Election Win in Georgia!&#8221;
Over the last four years, Trump said that Loeffler has worked to promote election integrity, outreach, and voter registration through her nonprofit, Greater Georgia.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE</a>
&#8220;In addition to SBA Administrator, I’ve appointed her Co-Chair of the Presidential Inaugural Committee,&#8221; Trump added.
Loeffler responded to the announcement by saying that she was &#8220;deeply honored&#8221; as she accepted the nomination.
&#8220;Small businesses are huge for America,&#8221; she said. &#8220;They’re the beating heart of our economy and the gateway to the American Dream.
&#8220;The America First Agenda will unleash a new era of growth and opportunity for job creators and innovators!&#8221; she added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
As a fellow entrepreneur and business leader, I am deeply honored to accept President Trump’s nomination to serve as SBA Administrator.
Small businesses are huge for America. They’re the beating heart of our economy and the gateway to the American Dream.
The America First… <a href="https://t.co/ILUqMcQ7pT">pic.twitter.com/ILUqMcQ7pT</a>
— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) <a href="https://twitter.com/KLoeffler/status/1864461253399208276?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2024</a></blockquote>

2024 Presidential Candidates Speak At Erick Erickson’s The Gathering Event

Trump Nominates ‘Tremendous Fighter’ Kelly Loeffler For SBA Administrator

General

Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) has started a voter organization in Georgia that will focus on getting conservative-leaning Georgians to the polls as well as securing election integrity.
Loeffler lost her seat to Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock on January 6 in a runoff election that was heavily influenced by the turmoil surrounding the presidential election.
The surprising Democrat gains in the Peach State have been largely attributed to voter outreach headed by failed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stacey-abrams-was-again-lauded-as-an-election-hero-it-turns-out-georgia-saw-its-lowest-share-of-black-vote-since-2006">The Daily Wire</a>, however, the data to support such a claim is not clear.
Loeffler has reportedly dumped a seven-figure sum into the creation of &#8220;Greater Georgia&#8221; and will serve as chairwoman.
The group, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kelly-loeffler-starts-voter-organization-to-rival-stacey-abrams-political-machine-after-gop-losses-in-georgia">according</a> to Fox News, will &#8220;mirror&#8221; some of the functions of Abrams&#8217; &#8220;Fair Fight Action&#8221; while &#8220;strengthening election security&#8221; and focusing on &#8220;election transparency and uniformity.&#8221;
&#8220;Our state is greater – and our democracy is stronger – when everyone’s voice is heard, and that’s exactly what Greater Georgia’s work is about,&#8221; said a statement from Loeffler.
&#8220;But for too many in our state, the importance – and even the sanctity of their vote – is in question,&#8221; the Republican continued. &#8221; That’s why we’re rolling up our sleeves to register conservative-leaning voters who have been overlooked, to regularly engage more communities, and to strengthen election integrity across our state.&#8221;
&#8220;Elections at every level have consequences – and we’re already seeing the consequences of recent elections play out in Georgia and across the country. Conservatives have a winning message, we just need to go out and share it with more people,&#8221; Loeffler added. &#8220;By registering new voters, broadening our outreach, and rebuilding trust in our election process, we can create better outcomes, strengthen our democracy, and lift up more voices in our state.&#8221;
As noted by Fox News, &#8220;Greater Georgia&#8217;s creation follows what many suspect to be disillusionment among GOP voters following former President Donald Trump&#8217;s election loss about whether voting matters.&#8221;
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has seemingly publicly blamed Trump for Senate losses in Georgia. &#8220;Georgia was a fiasco,&#8221; he told <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcconnell-atop-a-fractious-party-is-open-to-jumping-into-primary-races-11613423935" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Wall Street Journal</a>. &#8220;We all know why that occurred.&#8221;
As noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/georgia-voter-group-founded-by-stacey-abrams-under-investigation-for-registering-out-of-state-dead-voters">The Daily Wire</a> in December, a voting group founded by Abrams was named as one of the organizations to be under investigation for allegedly registering out-of-state and dead voters:
<blockquote>Stacey Abrams’ voter registration group, The New Georgia Project, is one of three such organizations now under investigation by the Georgia Secretary of State amid concerns that certain voting rights groups were “seeking to ‘aggressively’ register ‘ineligible, out-of-state, or deceased voters’ before the state’s Jan. 5 Senate runoff election,” <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/voter-group-founded-by-stacey-abrams-under-investigation-seeking-out-of-state-dead">according to Fox News</a>.
Abrams’ group, as well as America Votes and Vote Forward, are largely credited with putting Georgia in play for Democrats in the 2020 presidential election. Abrams even recently credited her own efforts to register Georgia voters and fight what she termed “voter suppression” with helping to secure a win in Georgia for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stacey-abrams-was-again-lauded-as-an-election-hero-it-turns-out-georgia-saw-its-lowest-share-of-black-vote-since-2006">Stacey Abrams Was Again Lauded As An Election Hero. It Turns Out Georgia Saw Its Lowest Share Of Black Vote Since 2006</a>

Stacey Abrams

Fighting Back: Republican Creates Response To Stacey Abrams’ Voter Organization In Georgia, Adds Focus On ‘Election Integrity’

georgia

Voting

After weeks of campaigning in the turbulent and chaotic aftermath of November 3rd, Georgia’s runoff elections are finally over. With only a handful of votes left to be counted, both Republican incumbents have been defeated. Jon Ossoff — a millionaire armchair socialist-lite — beat David Perdue by over 41,000 votes (0.92%), and Raphael Warnock — a radical who has espoused anti-Semitic and anti-American sentiments — beat Kelly Loeffler by over 79,000 votes (1.8%). 
While it is possible that recounts will be requested, both margins are larger than the threshold required to automatically trigger a recount under Georgia law.
Many close to President Trump expressed disbelief consistent with the denial demonstrated since November’s election, including White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who <a href="https://twitter.com/kayleighmcenany/status/1346845701284753410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1346845701284753410%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.dailywire.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D178746action%3Dedit">implied</a> that Warnock’s win was illegitimate. It is likely that some will continue to refuse to accept the reality that Trump, and some who aligned with Trump, lost the election. Setting that debate aside, however, to apply that logic to the Georgia runoff races is simply an act of mathematical denial.
A basic analysis of the<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/05/us/elections/results-georgia-runoffs.html"> vote</a> explains precisely why Loeffler will soon be replaced by a radical socialist embroiled in multiple scandals. In the counties of Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, and DeKalb — the counties which surround Atlanta — Warnock outperformed his November margins. In Fulton, he increased his margin by 2%. In Gwinnett, 4%. In Cobb, 2.4%. In DeKalb, 2.5%. In the top 35 most populous counties that Loeffler won, she underperformed her November margins, in some cases by multiple percentage points. 
When one candidate improves and another declines, it doesn’t take a mathematical genius to understand why the improved candidate has a better chance of emerging victorious in an already tight race.
The same is true of the closer race between Ossoff and Perdue. In Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb, Ossoff outperformed his November margins. Indeed, in every county that Ossoff won, he outperformed his November margins, and even flipped two counties (Baldwin and Washington). Perdue, on the other hand, consistently underperformed in multiple counties. Given that Perdue only received 1.8% more than Ossoff in the November election, it’s easy to see how Ossoff achieved his victory.
The brutal fact is that Republicans lost in Georgia solely because Republican voter turnout decreased since November. The driving factors behind this reduction in turnout in historically red counties are numerous, but likely include the campaign against the security and safety of the elections in Georgia. It’s difficult, after all, to convince people to vote while also claiming that their vote is meaningless. While that campaign ultimately drove down voter turnout, the Democrats focused on the opposite.
If Republicans and conservatives hope to avoid making the same mistakes of this election, then it’s crucial that we learn from these mistakes. At its heart, this means understanding that turnout cannot be taken for granted and that any electoral strategy which involves suppressing our own vote will have dire consequences.
Ultimately, the Democrats will now control the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate entirely because of Republicans&#8217; self-inflicted wounds. 
Ian Haworth is host of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkPxdVsNp7k&amp;list=PLhi-aq-5DfuTQRVv1IOVMnA735vEYO0f5">The Ian Haworth Show</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E05t2L69Sks&amp;list=PLhi-aq-5DfuRHu5r0IV5qr4h2rBAV9oBd">The Truth in 60 Seconds</a>. Follow him on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/ighaworth">@ighaworth</a>.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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