Breaking: Exclusive: Commerce Department Lays Off Dozens of Minority Business Development Agency Employees

The Commerce Department sent reduction in force (RIF) notices to 32 employees working in the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) this week in accordance with the White House's directive to shutter the agency, two sources familiar with the matter tell National Review. Wednesday's layoffs came after dozens of employees working at the agency were placed on administrative leave in late March.

The Commerce Department's latest move represents the administration's broader efforts to shrink the size and scope of the federal bureaucracy and dismantle any government programs and entities that Republicans view as being even remotely tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

In March, the president signed an executive order calling for the elimination of the MBDA and several other agencies "to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law." The order also called on agency heads to shrink a handful of other government entities, including the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Democratic lawmakers are staunchly opposed to the administration's efforts to dismantle the MBDA, which got its start when President Richard Nixon established the Office of Minority Business Enterprise in 1969. The agency was granted statutory authorization under the Minority Business Development Act of 2021.

Democrats have argued that shuttering the agency will stall job growth and hinder the government's efforts to help minority-owned businesses secure contracts and gain access to capital in keeping with congressional mandates.

During Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's confirmation hearing, Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D., Del.) pressed the then-nominee whether he would support preserving the agency. “I think it’s small, so it’s hard for it to be successful. It can be effective,” Lutnick said. “It’s important to put things in their size perspective, and it’s a small agency, as you know.”

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