Baldwin, Colleagues Demand to Know Who Killed Minority Business Development Agency, Why & Where’s the Money Going?

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined her colleagues in demanding that Keith Sonderling, the purported Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), promptly turn over key documents and information related to the dismantling of the agency and recent funding termination notices sent to all grantees by a member of Elon Musk’s DOGE, including Wisconsin’s office.

“In one MBDA termination notice reviewed by our offices, the Department claims the grant is being terminated because it ‘is unfortunately no longer consistent with the agency’s priorities and no longer serves the interests of the United States and the MBDA Program,” wrote Baldwin and the lawmakers in a letter to Sonderling. “The termination notice further states that, ‘MBDA is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda.’ … [T]he notice is silent about why the grants are inconsistent with the MBDA’s priorities and programs—which Congress, nor the Department, set by statute. And it suggests the DOC or others in the Administration may be using funding appropriated for the MBDA for other, unrelated purposes.”

Baldwin and the Senators questioned Sonderling about the notice terminating all MBDA grants, which was signed by Nate Cavanaugh, a member of Elon Musk’s DOGE and “Under the Authority of Keith Sonderling, Acting Undersecretary of MBDA.”

“This raises significant questions regarding Mr. Cavanaugh’s precise role at DOC and the mechanism by which you or other members of DOC leadership delegated him authority to terminate MBDA grants on behalf of the Department,” Baldwin and the lawmakers continued. “Our offices have also obtained information indicating you may not have been aware these termination notices were being sent out by Mr. Cavanaugh under your authority, which would raise further questions about who is actually running the Department: Secretary Lutnick or Elon Musk and DOGE?”

This letter follows Baldwin demanding Secretary Lutnick, on March 25 and April 17, answer questions about the gutting of MBDA despite his testimony before the Commerce Committee stating he would not support doing so.

Senator Baldwin worked with Republicans to include the Minority Business Development Act of 2021 as an amendment to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), making the MBDA permanent and increasing its funding authorization and reach. Baldwin then worked to bring a new Minority Business Development Center to Wisconsin, along with a $1.61 million grant to support its work assisting small businesses.

The full letter is available here and below.

Acting Under Secretary Sonderling:

On March 25, 2025, and April 17, 2025, we sent letters to Secretary Howard Lutnick raising serious concerns about the apparent dismantling of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), despite his testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation stating he would not support doing so. In our April 17 letter, we requested specific documents and information that would help address our outstanding questions and concerns regarding the MBDA. On April 24, 2025, we received a letter from the Department of Commerce (DOC) Acting Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs purporting to respond to our April 17 letter. This response, however, contained a mere three sentences related to the MBDA and failed to answer or meaningfully address any of our requests. Given Secretary Lutnick’s apparent disregard for our concerns about the Department’s actions against the MBDA, we are now requesting you provide documents and information related to this inquiry.

Since our most recent letter, our offices have obtained information demonstrating that DOC has canceled all MBDA grants—further dismantling an agency Congress statutorily authorized, despite Secretary Lutnick’s testimony to the contrary. In one MBDA termination notice reviewed by our offices, the Department claims the grant is being terminated because it “is unfortunately no longer consistent with the agency’s priorities and no longer serves the interests of the United States and the MBDA Program.” The termination notice further states that, “MBDA is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda.” Beyond these conclusory assertions, however, the notice is silent about why the grants are inconsistent with the MBDA’s priorities and programs—which Congress, not the Department, set by statute. And it suggests the DOC or others in the Administration may be using funding appropriated for the MBDA for other, unrelated purposes.

Raising further concerns, the termination notice was signed by Nate Cavanaugh—who we understand to be part of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—and is signed “Under the Authority of Keith Sonderling, Acting Undersecretary of MBDA.” Mr. Cavanaugh has reportedly been interviewing employees at the General Services Administration and overseeing efforts to dismantle another agency, the U.S. Institute of Peace. The termination notice indicates that Mr. Cavanaugh now has a DOC e-mail address. This raises significant questions regarding Mr. Cavanaugh’s precise role at DOC and the mechanism by which you or other members of DOC leadership delegated him authority to terminate MDBA grants on behalf of the Department. Our offices have also obtained information indicating you may not have been aware these termination notices were being sent out by Mr. Cavanaugh under your authority, which would raise further questions about who is actually running the Department: Secretary Lutnick or Elon Musk and DOGE?

Given the lack of responsiveness from the Department to date, we reiterate the requests raised in our April 17, 2025 letter, and request the following additional documents and information no later than May 14, 2025:

• A complete description of Mr. Cavanaugh’s position at DOC, including his title, job description, date(s) of employment, any salary, any benefits, supervisor, and direct reports. Please also identify all other federal e-mail addresses assigned to or used by Mr. Cavanaugh of which you are aware.
• Documents sufficient to show Mr. Cavanaugh’s delegated authority to execute termination notices to MBDA grantees.
• Documentation sufficient to show your appointment as Acting Under Secretary for Minority Business Development Agency and the date of such appointment.
• A complete description of your decision to delegate your authority to Mr. Cavanaugh for the purpose of terminating MBDA grants, including the extent to which Secretary Lutnick or any other senior DOC official was involved in making this decision.
• A complete description of the types of funded activities that are considered “consistent with the agency’s priorities” and “serve[] the interests of…the MBDA program.”
• A detailed explanation of how the MBDA intends to “repurpos[e] its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda,” including any specific program or activity that has received or is expected to receive repurposed funding.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.