Karen Kerrigan

Karen Kerrigan is an American political operative, businesswoman, and longtime President and CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council), a conservative 501c(4) that advocates and lobbies for right wing economic policies. A Trump defender, Kerrigan is the principal author of the Small Business Administration (SBA) chapter of Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership, in which she proposes restructuring the SBA towards a more exclusive and politically-driven agenda.

Kerrigan has served as the President & CEO of the SBE Council for 28 years where she has positioned herself as a leader in the conservative movement, especially regarding tax reform and mass deregulation. Under her leadership, the SBE Council has defended the Trump administration’s most aggressive and controversial economic policies and has advocated directly for Trump’s agenda, including parroting Trump campaign rhetoric, celebrating the Supreme Court’s Chevron ruling, criticizing the Fed, and loudly criticizing the Biden administration at every turn. The SBE Council has spent at least $480,000 lobbying the Biden administration and Congress, with Kerrigan approving every lobbying disclosure.

Kerrigan’s vision for the SBA prioritizes ideological conformity over inclusivity and equitable support for small businesses, claiming that SBA has become “hyperfocused” on inclusivity, asserting SBA’s independent Office Of Advocacy can be “a powerful weapon against the administrative state’s regulatory regime,” and suggesting that specific institutions, notably Planned Parenthood, should be punished as a part of COVID-19 Loan program accountability. Some of Kerrigan’s most aggressive and politically-motivated proposals include:

– Remove religious exclusions from SBA loan eligibility to allow religious organizations to receive federal loans intended for small businesses

“On January 19, 2021, the Trump Administration SBA proposed a rule to remove all of the unconstitutional religious exclusions from its regulations. The SBA has not acted on the proposed rule.” [The next Administration should immediately] “finalize the Trump Administration’s proposed rule or publish its own updated proposed rule to remove the unconstitutional regulations.”

– Expand the independent SBA Office of Advocacy to combat “extreme regulatory policies” across all agencies.

“Increase the Office of Advocacy’s budget by at least 50 percent.”

Require all federal agencies seek input “to the Office of Advocacy at least 60 days before a notice of proposed rulemaking”

– Reduce SBA’s reach and operations

“No new direct lending programs will be developed at the SBA.”

“Rank [all SBA] programs by cost effectiveness”…“After which Congress should terminate ineffective programs, consolidate duplicative functions, and reallocate resources to more effective programs (such as the Office of Advocacy) or consider reducing the SBA budget.”

– Privatize various aspects of the agency:

Personnel: “Rein in these idealistic and impractical efforts, get current programs under control and properly staffed with people who can manage and perform competently, and outsource efforts where private-sector expertise is appropriate and more efficient.”

Disaster Loan Program: “Work with Congress to assess the extent to which disaster loans should be offered by another agency rather than the SBA and explore private-sector channels for administering the loans”

Today, Kerrigan continues to use SBE Council’s platform to support and advocate for Trump’s agenda, regardless of the direct impact on small businesses. Kerrigan is a board member and former chair of the Center for International Private enterprise (CIPE) and a founding member of the World Entrepreneurship Forum, which she calls “a Worldwide think tank devoted to the entrepreneur, creator of wealth and social justice.”