Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the current Chair of the Senate Banking Committee, has built a reputation as one of the strongest Republican champions for minority-owned businesses and underserved communities. For years, Scott worked across the aisle to permanently authorize and expand the reach of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) — a federal initiative dating back to the Nixon administration that provides grants, technical assistance, and mentorship to minority entrepreneurs.
Scott’s personal story — growing up in a low-income community and later launching his own small insurance business — made him a compelling voice for economic empowerment policies. He frequently touted the MBDA as a key pillar in improving access to capital and opportunities for minority-owned enterprises, particularly in rural and historically underserved areas.
A Sudden Dismantling Under Trump
Despite Scott’s advocacy, the MBDA has seen its operations effectively gutted under the Trump administration in recent weeks. All of the agency’s approximately 50 staffers have been placed on administrative leave or reassigned within the Commerce Department. The agency’s grant-making operations have been suspended, its national network of business centers is being shuttered, and awarded grants have reportedly gone without updates or guidance.
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These changes come following a March 14 executive order issued by President Donald Trump, directing the MBDA to scale down its work and staff to the “minimal amount possible” under the law. No formal announcement was made, and the decision has sparked outrage and confusion among stakeholders.
“A lawful federal agency is being functionally eliminated through verbal instruction, without public transparency, process, or regard for its statutory basis,” a Commerce Department employee told reporters.
Scott’s Silence Raises Eyebrows
Despite the abrupt dismantling of an agency he once helped save, Tim Scott has remained publicly silent on the matter. The absence of a statement — even as Democratic lawmakers and civil rights advocates sound the alarm — has not gone unnoticed.
“They are watching this happen, and they are doing nothing. That’s cowardice,” said another Commerce Department employee. “It cuts especially deep when the people you once believed were your champions turn their backs in silence.”
Scott’s silence is especially glaring considering that he campaigned for Trump and was at one point in the running to be his 2024 vice presidential pick. His muted response underscores the increasingly fraught balance that Black conservatives must strike between advocating for their communities and maintaining party loyalty under Trump’s administration.
Legacy of Advocacy Meets Political Reality
During Trump’s first term, Scott achieved notable milestones: he secured permanent funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), championed opportunity zones under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and supported tax cuts benefiting single mothers.
Scott also played a leading role in the Empowering Main Street in America Act, designed to help small businesses — including minority-, women-, and rural-owned — gain better access to capital. Though the bill stalled in Congress last year, Scott reiterated in March that he intends to revive it.
“Their vision of America is one that allows every American, no matter their background, to have the necessary tools and resources to achieve their American dream,” a spokesperson for Scott said, referencing both the senator and Trump.
But this vision now clashes with reality, as Trump’s administration pursues a broader rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs throughout the federal government. While many Republican lawmakers still privately express support for the MBDA’s mission, they have reportedly suggested renaming the agency to avoid “political attention.”
The MBDA’s Role in Economic Justice
The MBDA has long been an instrumental lifeline for minority entrepreneurs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Scott helped secure $10 million in emergency relief for the agency to connect small, minority-owned businesses to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
In a 2020 interview on ABC’s The View, Scott emphasized the critical role these businesses play in Black communities:
“Barber shops, beauty salons, and landscapers — these are some of the hardest-working people you know. They need to know the resources are there.”
In 2021, bipartisan legislation permanently authorized the MBDA as part of a sweeping infrastructure and jobs bill. The law also expanded the agency’s presence by creating rural business centers at HBCUs, a move Scott specifically endorsed during a fireside chat with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2020.
“You’ll bring expertise to those would-be entrepreneurs and better equip them for success,” he said.
Fallout of the Cuts
With the MBDA’s core programming suspended, a host of services — including the Capital Readiness Program — are now in limbo. Contractors have been released, business centers are closing, and grant recipients have been left without communication or clarity about their funding status.
According to sources inside the Commerce Department, only three staff members remain: a deputy secretary, an acting under secretary, and a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee.
“What’s unfolding at the MBDA is unprecedented,” said a department source. “And the silence from lawmakers who once defended the agency is even more shocking.”
Broader DEI Rollback and Legal Scrutiny
Trump’s dismantling of the MBDA is part of a wider anti-DEI campaign. Throughout his second term, Trump has targeted federal diversity initiatives, even referring to agencies like MBDA as “woke bureaucracies” in private remarks, according to aides.
During Trump’s first term, his budget proposals sought to defund or eliminate the MBDA every year — though Congress blocked the efforts. This time, the strategy appears more administrative than legislative, dismantling programs without public debate or official closures.
House Democrats, led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), are now pushing back, claiming the current approach is not only reckless but potentially illegal.
“This represents yet another unlawful and dangerous attempt to undermine a congressionally established institution vital to our nation’s economy,” Waters said in a statement.
Adjusting Strategies in the Trump Era
Some of Scott’s allies believe that while he has remained quiet, he is far from abandoning his core mission.
“Senator Scott will work with the administration to find a path to make sure that this work continues,” said Stephen Gilchrist, chair of the South Carolina African American Chamber of Commerce. “African American and other minority businesses still need access to capital and resources — and he knows that.”
Still, many are wondering whether adjusting strategy will mean compromising on principle — especially for a senator whose political identity has long been tied to expanding economic opportunity for all Americans.
As the Trump administration reshapes the federal government’s approach to diversity and minority inclusion, Scott’s next moves may define not only his legacy — but also the future of Black entrepreneurship in America.
