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House small business panel releases year-end report on 'partisan' Biden agency electioneering allegations

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House small business panel releases year-end report on 'partisan' Biden agency electioneering allegations

EXCLUSIVE: The House Small Business Committee is releasing its year-end interim report on what it found to be the “weaponizing [of] federal resources” for political purposes within the Small Business Administration.

Earlier this year, Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, committee chair, issued a rare subpoena to Small Business Administration officials over their work in connection with an official Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) forged with the Michigan Department of State.

The MOU was in accordance with President Biden’s 2021 executive order “14019: Promoting Access to Voting.” However, the committee alleged the SBA had been involved in partisan voter registration outreach in a key swing state – rather than simply aiding voters across the board.

The committee report, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, found Biden’s executive order to be an “improper use of executive authority” and that SBA actions in accordance with it thereby “pose unnecessary risks to the integrity of U.S. elections.”

LAWMAKERS SLAM SBA ‘STONEWALLING’ OVER MICHIGAN VOTER MEMO AS ELECTIONEERING CLAIMS SURFACE

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“The SBA’s MOU with the State of Michigan and travel patterns of senior SBA officials indicate the conflation of official duty and partisan political activities,” the committee found.

“Either intentionally or negligently, the SBA has failed to refute concerns of this MOU’s partisan nature.”

The committee’s report also found the SBA “strayed from its core mission” in working with Michigan under the voter registration MOU, and that it “engaged in a protracted campaign to obscure the makeup of its im­plementation of E.O. 14019 and obfuscate the truth of alleged political activities at the SBA to the committee.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., praised the work of the committee and its interim report, saying it rightly exposed “not only the improper use of executive authority but also significant concerns about actions taken by an agency that may jeopardize the integrity of U.S. elections.”

WATCHDOG GROUP SUES FEDS FOR RECORDS AS LAWMAKER CALLS VOTER REGISTRATION EFFORTS A ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’

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“The stark contrast between the SBA’s core mission and its involvement in voter registration activities highlights the urgent need for greater transparency and accountability,” Johnson said.

Johnson added he and the GOP caucus are looking forward to working with President-elect Trump to end such “abuses.”

The 47-page report further alleged the SBA exceeded the requirements of state and federal laws, including the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, the Anti-Deficiency Act, and the Hatch Act, which prohibits government officials from politicking in their official capacity.

In May, Williams and his committee, along with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, demanded travel schedules, official calendars and other documents from the SBA. In addition, at least one Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit was separately launched by the right-leaning Oversight Project for some of the same documents as Congress was being purportedly “stonewalled.”

Williams initially accused the SBA and Administrator Isabel Casillas-Guzman of shirking her responsibility to help “Main Street” and instead focusing on registering voters in heavily Democratic parts of Michigan like Detroit and Saginaw – while ignoring committee oversight demands.

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Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., chair of the House Administration Committee – whose panel has oversight over legislative matters relating to elections – said that while elections are partisan affairs, election administration should not be.

“The Biden-Harris administration partnering with the Michigan Department of State to use your taxpayer dollars for a partisan purpose should never be allowed,” he said. 

KEY BIDEN AGENCY SLAPPED WITH HISTORIC SUBPOENAS OVER ‘IMPROPER’ SWING-STATE VOTER REGISTRATION PUSH

People line up outside a polling station. (Reuters)

Digging into the executive order that the SBA’s actions aimed to align with, Williams’ report found it changed the way the executive branch enforces the National Voter Registration Act, and uniquely requires agency officials to work with the White House to find ways to support federal employees who wish to volunteer as election workers or watchers.

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The report added that the choice of Michigan as the petri dish for the SBA’s work under the executive order caught the committee’s attention early, due to its routine status as a swing state and the fact its top officials were “sympath[etic]” to the Biden-Harris campaign.

“This interim report illustrates how the MOU blurs the line between personal political beliefs and the official duties of SBA and Michigan state employees,” the document reads.

The report also included copies of email chains between the White House, SBA and/or outside advocacy organizations.

“The committee discovered that many senior SBA employees have relationships with these left-leaning organizations,” it read.

“Notably, the Biden-Harris Administration ‘warmly welcomed’ these relationships between nonpartisan agencies and left-leaning organizations.”

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In summing up and reacting to the report, Williams said the SBA was created to “aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns.”

In previous remarks to Fox News Digital, the top Democrat on Williams’ committee expressed dismay at the subpoenas and investigatory practices by Williams in probing the MOU.

Small Business Administration chief Isabel Guzman speaks at an event

Williams is targeting a partnership started by the Michigan Department of State and Small Business Administration chief Isabel Guzman. (Getty Images)

In a statement, Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., said the committee had long prided itself on “bipartisan cooperation to help American entrepreneurs.”

“Unfortunately, with [these] subpoenas, Republicans have rejected these principles to pursue a partisan inquiry,” Velazquez said.

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Representatives for the SBA have repeatedly denied the allegations made by Congress’ investigation.

In October, a spokesperson for Guzman said the explicit allegations of “stonewalling” the committee’s work were “demonstrably false.”

A spokesperson for the SBA told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that any allegations of “stonewalling” are “demonstrably false.”

“For nearly two years, the SBA has cooperated with the committee’s inquiry, testifying at multiple hearings, providing the committee staff with briefings, making agency officials available for transcribed interviews, and producing thousands of pages of documents responsive to their inquiry,” the spokesperson said, calling the allegations “baseless.”

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South Dakota

Last of state’s housing infrastructure grant money awarded to Rapid City project • South Dakota Searchlight

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Last of state’s housing infrastructure grant money awarded to Rapid City project • South Dakota Searchlight


A state board awarded the remainder of grant funding Tuesday from the Housing Infrastructure Financing Program, while much of the program’s loan money remains available.

The program uses a mix of state and federal money to ease the burden of high inflation for homebuilders and address a need for workforce housing. Lawmakers created the program in 2023, after legal wrangling held up the funds the previous year. It covers up to one-third of the cost of a development’s roads, sewer lines, street lights and other costs associated with building new neighborhoods. 

The funding pool included $50 million in federal COVID relief funding for grants, $50 million in state funding for grants, $100 million in state funding for loans, plus interest income earned by the funds. 

The South Dakota Housing Authority Board awarded $1,077,604 — the remainder of interest-derived grant funds — to a water booster pump station project meant to increase water capacity to the Shepherd Hills development near Menards in eastern Rapid City. The total project costs $5.8 million and will provide water capacity to 78 single family lots and hundreds of multifamily lots within the undeveloped area, said Housing Development Authority Executive Director Chas Olson.

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A map shows the location of 74 projects funded by the South Dakota Housing Infrastructure Financing Program as of December 2024. The Housing Development Authority Board approved two more Rapid City-based projects at its December meeting. (Courtesy of South Dakota Housing)

The board also approved a loan Tuesday of $625,000 to another Rapid City project. Stoney Creek Reserve plans to develop 25 single family home lots on the southwest edge of the city. The total project cost is $2.1 million.

The authority has awarded money to 74 projects from the fund so far. The funds will help create 7,043 new single family home lots and 5,127 new multifamily units.

The board has awarded $120.5 million after the December meeting and has about $86.3 million in loan funds available. About $2 million is reserved for an administrative fee for South Dakota Housing to run the program. The funds have garnered an extra $9 million due to interest.

Olson told South Dakota Searchlight earlier this year that demand for loans was lower as long as grants were available, and many of the grant-funded projects are now underway.

“As a result, contractors are occupied, and developers without ongoing projects might be waiting to see how quickly these new units are absorbed,” Olson said.

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Wisconsin

Three takeaways from Wisconsin football's 2025 schedule

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Three takeaways from Wisconsin football's 2025 schedule


Three takeaways from Wisconsin football’s 2025 schedule

The Big Ten announced its complete 2025 football schedule on Wednesday afternoon. The Badgers’ opponents were already known, but now dates have been finalized for the 2025 campaign.

Here is Wisconsin’s slate, as announced Wednesday:

Wisconsin Football 2025 Schedule

*Home games in Bold.

If the first thought that comes to mind is “loaded,” get used to it. This is the 18-team Big Ten. The days of a cakewalk through the Big Ten West are over. With ever-increasing parity in the sport and Wisconsin trending in the wrong direction regardless, there’s very few that can be marked off as games the Badgers “should” win.

Without further ado, here’s three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s 2025 football schedule release:

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No shortage of hostile environments 

Wisconsin’s 2024 schedule was similarly stacked, with the Badgers ultimately playing three games against top-5 teams. Wisconsin dropped all three, and it doesn’t get any easier: those games (Alabama, Penn State, Oregon) were all at home. Of the Badgers’ toughest tests in 2025, the majority will take place outside of Madison.

It starts off with a trip to Tuscaloosa in Week 3. Bryant-Denny Stadium, which seats over 100,000 die-hard Crimson Tide fans, will be an unforgiving environment to say the least. Wisconsin has never played in Tuscaloosa, — the Badgers are 1-1 in Madison against Alabama and lost a neutral site game in Arlington, Texas back in 2015.

In their very next road game, the Badgers will travel to Ann Arbor to play in front of yet another 100,000-plus crowd in the Big House. The Badgers haven’t fared well on the road against the Wolverines; they’re 7-29 in the Big House, including 2-6 this century. This series tends to favor the home team, although Michigan waltzed into Camp Randall in 2021 and beat Wisconsin, 38-17, in their last meeting.

The very next road game? Autzen Stadium in Eugene for a rematch with the Ducks. That stadium only seats 54,000, but make no mistake — it can be one of the loudest environments in the sport, especially at night. The Badgers are 1-1 in Eugene, but their lone win came in 1977. Oregon has won four straight in this series.

Just how brutal is October really?

The prevailing wisdom about Wisconsin’s October slate is that it’s a murderers’ row of opponents, quite possibly the toughest conference stretch for any Big Ten team.

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With games at Michigan, versus Iowa, versus Ohio State and at Oregon, that checks out upon first glance.

Still, there’s so much we don’t know about what these programs will look like in 2025. Early December is not the time to evaluate how tough an opponent will be next fall. Every single roster in the nation is in flux right now, and while it would be foolish to assume anything other than a daunting test against teams like Oregon and Ohio State, there’s no telling how the Ducks and Buckeyes, or any other team for that matter, will look come game time.

Of the four teams Wisconsin plays in October, it’s highly likely that none have their starting quarterback currently on their roster. Heck, the Buckeyes might have a new head coach after four years of Ryan Day’s repeated incompetence in The Game. Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon, especially, have exceedingly deep pockets and should be able to construct formidable rosters on paper. Still, that doesn’t guarantee the team will be a juggernaut, especially when the transfer portal is relied upon heavily (how’d that go for preseason No. 10 Florida State this season?)

Yes, this figures to be a tough stretch any way you slice it. But don’t get too caught up in an opponent’s logo — worry about their depth chart. Considering every roster in America is currently in upheaval, we know much less than we think we do about these daunting foes.

Chance to start hot

Wisconsin won its two buy games to open the year this season, only to fall to 2-2 after a tough back-to-back against Alabama and USC. The Tide are of course scheduled for Week 3 once again, but the Badgers have a real shot to start 3-1 next fall.

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Miami (OH) and Middle Tennessee are the only two games that you can truly, confidently say the Badgers should win. Against Alabama, you can pretty confidently say the Badgers will lose. But in Week 4, Wisconsin opens Big Ten play against a Maryland program that just finished 17th in the conference, going 1-8 in Big Ten games. That’s about as close to a should-win as it gets for a Badgers team reeling from consecutive disappointing seasons.

A 3-1 start would be massive in helping Wisconsin get back to bowl eligibility next year. If the Badgers can start 3-1, win a few tight games and not close the season on a five-game losing streak, it should return to the postseason.

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Detroit, MI

Metro Detroit boys basketball players to watch in 2024-25

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Metro Detroit boys basketball players to watch in 2024-25


The Michigan high school boys basketball season continues to pick up steam and there are many players across the Metro Detroit coverage area worth watching this season. Michigan commit Trey McKenney of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s is the returning two-time Metro Detroit Player of the Year is back for his senior season and he will be surrounded by a lot talent in the Metro Detroit area.

Here are the top players to watch around Metro Detroit for the 2024-25 season.



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