Kelly Loeffler, the Trump-nominated leader of the Small Business Administration, announced in a Saturday X post that she has instructed the department’s Minneapolis district office to begin relocating in response to “overwhelming local hostility” toward ICE.
“Following the events of this week, and the overwhelming local hostility toward Immigration and Customs Enforcement, I have ordered @SBAgov to begin relocation of our agency’s Minneapolis district office,” Loeffler wrote on X.
“Since Day One, I have been clear that SBA will not continue to surge resources to communities that refuse to protect their small business owners by impeding this Administration’s efforts to deport and detain criminal illegal aliens. We will relocate our offices to cities that comply with federal law—and take seriously their responsibility to promote public safety on Main Street.”
In response to Loeffler’s announcement, Governor Gavin Newsom’s Press Office replied, “Nothing says ‘cutting government waste’ like spending taxpayer money to pack up an entire federal office and move it for political theater.”
Loeffler, who is married to billionaire Jeffrey Sprecher, was nominated by Trump to lead the Small Business Administration after she raised millions of dollars for his 2024 presidential campaign. The president even credited Loeffler and her husband with helping him win Georgia.
Minneapolis residents have been taking to the streets to protest the killing of 37-year-old mom-of-three Renee Good at the hands of an ICE officer on Wednesday.
Tensions were further ignited by the Trump administration’s inflammatory response to the killing, which consisted of President Donald Trump insulting Good and blaming her for her own death, and Vice President JD Vance accusing her of being part of a “broader left-wing network” focused on attacking ICE officers.
In response to the unrest, Minneapolis Public Schools canceled classes on Thursday and Friday. At least 29 people were arrested at a Friday night protest outside Minneapolis’ Canopy Hotel, where several ICE agents were believed to be staying. Police also claimed that an officer was injured after a chunk of ice was thrown at them.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey responded to Good’s death by telling ICE to “get the f--- out” of Minneapolis.
“I do have a message for our community, our city, and I have a message for ICE. To ICE: Get the f--- out of Minneapolis,” Frey said during a press conference just hours after the shooting.
“We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite,” he continued. “People are being hurt. Families are being ripped apart. Long-term Minneapolis residents who have contributed so greatly to our city, to our culture, to our economy are being terrorized—and now somebody is dead. That’s on you, and it’s also on you to leave.”
The Minneapolis Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) revealed on Thursday that it was being prevented by the U.S. Attorney’s office from taking part in the investigation into Good’s death.
“The investigation would now be led solely by the FBI, and the BCA would no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence, or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation,” BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said in a statement.
As a result, the BCA had “reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation.”
