Kelly Loeffler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kelly Loeffler
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Official portrait, 2025
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| 28th Administrator of the Small Business Administration | |
| Assumed office February 20, 2025 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Bill Briggs (designate) |
| Preceded by | Isabel Guzman |
| United States Senator from Georgia |
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| In office January 6, 2020 – January 20, 2021 |
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| Appointed by | Brian Kemp |
| Preceded by | Johnny Isakson |
| Succeeded by | Raphael Warnock |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Kelly Lynn Loeffler
November 27, 1970 Bloomington, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Jeffrey Sprecher
(m. 2004) |
| Education | University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BS) DePaul University (MBA) |
Kelly Lynn Loeffler was born on November 27, 1970. She is an American businesswoman and politician. Since February 2025, she has been the 28th Administrator of the Small Business Administration. This role means she helps small businesses across the United States.
Before this, she was a U.S. Senator for Georgia from 2020 to 2021. She is a member of the Republican Party. Loeffler was also the chief executive officer (CEO) of Bakkt. This company is part of Intercontinental Exchange, where her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, is the CEO. She also used to be a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, a team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Brian Kemp, who was the Republican governor of Georgia, chose Loeffler to be a U.S. Senator in December 2019. This happened after Senator Johnny Isakson left his job because of health reasons. While in the Senate, Loeffler often supported President Donald Trump on important votes.
Loeffler ran in a special election in Georgia in 2020 to keep her Senate seat. She was one of the top two candidates in the November 3 election. This meant she went to a second election, called a runoff, against Democrat Raphael Warnock. The runoff was held on January 5, 2021, and she lost by a small amount.
After the November 2020 election, Loeffler said there were problems with the election results. She later said she would object to the official counting of votes in Congress. However, in January 2021, she changed her mind and voted to approve the election results.
On December 5, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced he wanted Loeffler to lead the Small Business Administration. The U.S. Senate approved her for this job on February 19, 2025.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Kelly Loeffler was born in Bloomington, Illinois. She grew up on her family's farm in Stanford, Illinois, where they grew corn and soybeans. She has one brother named Brian. In 1988, she finished high school at Olympia High School. There, she was part of the marching band, ran cross-country and track, and played basketball.
In 1992, Loeffler earned a degree in marketing from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. After college, she worked for Toyota. In 1999, she earned a master's degree in business from DePaul University. She paid for her master's degree by using land she inherited from her grandparents.
Early Career and Business Roles
After getting her master's degree, Loeffler worked for several companies. In 2002, she joined Intercontinental Exchange, a company that provides services for trading goods and money. She worked in investor relations, which means she helped the company communicate with its investors.
In 2004, she married Jeffrey Sprecher, who is the CEO of Intercontinental Exchange. Loeffler was later promoted to a senior role in investor relations and communications. In 2018, she became the chief executive officer (CEO) of Bakkt. This company is a part of Intercontinental Exchange.
In 2010, Loeffler bought a small share in the Atlanta Dream. This is a professional women's basketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In 2011, she and Mary Brock bought the team completely. Loeffler was very involved with the team. She would often go to games and even meet with the coach during halftime. In February 2021, Loeffler sold her share in the team.
Serving as a U.S. Senator (2020–2021)
Becoming a Senator
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In August 2019, Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson announced he would leave his job due to health reasons. On December 4, 2019, Governor Brian Kemp chose Kelly Loeffler to take his place. This was allowed under Georgia law.
Loeffler was sworn in as a Senator on January 6, 2020. She became the second woman to represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate. The first was Rebecca Latimer Felton in 1922. Loeffler's appointment was for a temporary period. She would serve until a special election could be held in November 2020, with a runoff election in January 2021 if needed.
Her Time in the Senate
Loeffler described herself as a very conservative Republican. This means she generally believes in less government involvement and more individual freedom. She often supported President Trump's ideas. During her time as a Senator, she introduced many bills and supported others. She voted with President Trump's views most of the time.
Loeffler supported efforts by Republicans to change healthcare laws. She also supported laws related to protecting unborn life. She gave parts of her Senate salary to organizations that help pregnant women and adoption agencies.
On gun issues, Loeffler supported gun rights. She opposed bans on certain types of weapons and laws that allow temporary removal of guns from people who might be a danger. Loeffler also supported building a wall along the Mexico–United States border. She also supported appointing judges who share conservative views to federal courts. In September 2020, she introduced a bill that would prevent transgender women from playing in girls' and women's sports.
In early 2020, Loeffler commented on the COVID-19 pandemic. She said that the U.S. was in a good economic position to handle the virus. She also criticized Democrats, saying they were playing politics with the issue. In October 2020, after President Trump and the First Lady got COVID-19, Loeffler blamed China.
During the official counting of the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count in January 2021, Loeffler had planned to vote against approving the results. However, after the storming of the U.S. Capitol building, which she saw, she changed her mind. She said she could not object to the votes in good conscience.
Senate Committees
While in the Senate, Kelly Loeffler served on several important committees:
- Committee on Health Education Labor & Pensions
- Joint Economic Committee
- Committee on Veterans Affairs
- Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry
COVID-19 Stock Trading Inquiry
In March 2020, it was revealed that Loeffler and her husband had sold stocks in companies that might be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. They started selling stocks on January 24. This was the same day Loeffler attended a private meeting about the spread of the disease. Loeffler said that a third-party advisor made the trades and that she only found out about them later.
A group called Common Cause filed complaints. They said there might have been violations of laws against using private information for stock trading. Loeffler and her husband later sold all their individual stocks. They said they did this to avoid distractions. In May 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice closed its investigation into Loeffler. In June 2020, the Senate Ethics Committee also dismissed the complaint, saying they found no evidence of wrongdoing.
2020–2021 U.S. Senate Special Election
Loeffler ran to serve the rest of the Senate term she had been appointed to. She planned to spend a lot of her own money on her campaign. In Georgia, all candidates, no matter their party, run in one election first. Loeffler was challenged by other Republicans and Democrats.
In July 2020, Loeffler, who co-owned the Atlanta Dream WNBA team, wrote a letter about players wearing "Black Lives Matter" shirts. She suggested they wear American flags instead. She said she was against the Black Lives Matter movement. Her comments led some WNBA players to ask for her removal as an owner. In August 2020, players from the Dream and other teams wore "Vote Warnock" shirts. This showed support for Raphael Warnock, one of Loeffler's Democratic opponents.
During her 2020 campaign, Loeffler said she always agreed with President Trump. She also mentioned that she was supported by Marjorie Taylor Greene, another Republican politician. When asked about Greene's past comments, Loeffler said she didn't know about some of the things mentioned and criticized the media.
Since no candidate won more than 50% of the votes, Loeffler, who came in second, went to a runoff election on January 5, 2021. Her opponent was the Democrat Raphael Warnock. Another Senate race in Georgia also went to a runoff. If Democrats won both seats, they would control the Senate.
After the November election, Loeffler and another Georgia Senator, David Perdue, claimed there were problems with the election. They asked for the resignation of the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, who is also a Republican. There was no proof of wrongdoing in the election. Loeffler's campaign tried to show her opponent, Raphael Warnock, as a "radical liberal." She asked people to vote for her to "hold the line" against what she called socialism.
The Associated Press announced that Warnock won the race on January 6. Warnock's win was partly due to a large number of Black voters in the runoff. On that same day, Loeffler had planned to object to the official counting of the presidential election results. However, she later changed her mind and accepted the results. Loeffler officially gave up the race to Warnock on January 7.
After the Senate (2021–2025)
After her time in the U.S. Senate, Loeffler started an organization called Greater Georgia. This group aimed to register conservative voters in Georgia. It also worked to share conservative messages and support changes to voting laws. Loeffler personally put at least $1 million into this organization.
In July 2023, Loeffler joined the board of directors for PublicSquare. This is an online marketplace for people who share conservative views.
During the 2024 United States presidential election, Loeffler was a big supporter of Donald Trump. She gave more than $4.9 million to help his re-election campaign.
Administrator of the Small Business Administration (2025–present)
Becoming the Administrator
On December 5, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced his plan to nominate Kelly Loeffler. He wanted her to be the Administrator of the Small Business Administration in his second term.
Loeffler appeared before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on January 29, 2025. The committee voted to approve her nomination on February 5, 2025. On February 19, 2025, the full U.S. Senate confirmed Loeffler's nomination with a vote of 52 to 46.
Her Role Today
Kelly Loeffler was sworn in as the 28th Administrator of the Small Business Administration on February 20, 2025. In this role, she helps lead the government agency that supports small businesses across the country.
Personal Life
Kelly Loeffler is a Roman Catholic.
In 2004, Loeffler married Jeffrey Sprecher. He is the founder and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange and chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. They live in Tuxedo Park, Atlanta, in a large home. In November 2020, it was reported that Loeffler and Sprecher had a combined net worth of about $800 million. This made her the wealthiest U.S. Senator serving at that time.
Interesting Facts About Kelly Loeffler
- She has an MBA, which is a Master of Business Administration degree.
- She has experience trading in the stock market.
- She used to be a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream WNBA team.
- She has spoken out against defunding the police and racism.
- In 2014, she thought about running for a U.S. Senate seat but decided not to.
Kelly Loeffler Quotes
- "I will always fight for the unborn, and I will always stand up against the radical left and the cancel culture."
- "I condemn violence no matter where it shows up or who the source is."
- "Civics curriculum is an important part of an education that prepares students for lives of leadership and service."
- "Schools fail to serve the best interest of their students when they promote a political agenda and push them into partisan activism rather than academic success."
Images for kids
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Official portrait, 2025
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Loeffler meeting with Mitch McConnell in December 2019
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Loeffler after being sworn in as Senator by President of the Senate Mike Pence
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Loeffler in 2020
See also
In Spanish: Kelly Loeffler para niños
- Women in conservatism in the United States
- Women in the United States Senate
