March 07, 2025 11:40 AM UTC

The GOP Retribution and Airing of Grievances Platform Hits SBA in Denver

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• by: Colorado Pols

As Aldo Svaldi reports for The Denver Post, there is no grievance too small for retribution in Donald Trump’s Republican Party:

The U.S. Small Business Administration confirmed Thursday that it would pull regional offices from Denver and five other large “sanctuary cities” over their unwillingness to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. [Pols emphasis]

“Over the coming months, the Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Seattle regional offices will be moved to less costly, more accessible locations that better serve the small business community and comply with federal immigration law,” the SBA said in a release.

The announcement comes a day after Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, along with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams testified for six hours before Congress about their respective stances on cooperating with federal deportation efforts…

…Denver is home to the SBA’s Region VIII, which covers Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, North Dakota and South Dakota. The Colorado District Office, established in 1953, is in the federally-owned U.S. Customs House at 721 19th St.

No announcement has been made as to where the region’s new office will be, but Rep. Jeff Crank, a Republican representing southern Colorado in Congress, wrote SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler on Feb. 25 asking that the SBA regional headquarters be moved to Colorado Springs.

This is so dumb.

We don’t know the history of how the Small Business Administration office for Region 8 ended up in Denver, but we’re guessing that it was a logical choice because that’s where most of the people live. Congressman Jeff Crank (R-Colorado Springs) wants to move the SBA location an hour to the south instead. This probably isn’t a huge deal for most people dealing with the Region 8 SBA, but it’s going to be a massive pain in the ass for small business owners in more heavily-populated cities such as New York City or Chicago.

In short, the SBA is going to spend a good deal of time and taxpayer money to move regional offices out of their current locations in major cities as a “punishment” for so-called “sanctuary cities.” How many people will be forced to make this move in Colorado? As The Colorado Sun reports, “An agency spokesperson declined to say if an office will remain in Colorado or how many employees it has in Denver.” Sounds like a well thought-out plan!

The purpose of the SBA is largely to distribute loans to encourage the growth of small businesses. Moving this office doesn’t really mean anything for the City of Denver in terms of a “punishment,” since people from all over the place can still apply for SBA loans (believe it or not, Jeff Crank: Innovation happens in lots of places). The only thing that will change as a result of this decision is that small business owners will be confused and will largely have to travel further to reach their local SBA office.

Maybe when the SBA is done with these moves, they can do something that will actually, you know, HELP small business owners.