February 19th, 2026Heinrich, Luján Demand Further Investigation into Trump Administration’s Unlawful Dismantling of the Minority Business Development Agency

WASHINGTON– U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) sent a letter demanding the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate potential violations committed during the U.S. Department of Commerce’s illegal dismantling of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), the only federal agency tasked with promoting the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned businesses. As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Senator Luján called on the Trump’s Commerce Department to provide an update on the status of the MBDA which the administration has tried to illegally dismantle.
On March 14, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order aimed at eliminating the MBDA and other federal agencies. Despite an earlier commitment from U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that he would not eliminate the MBDA, following Trump’s Executive Order, the Commerce Department proceeded to carry out the illegal dismantling of the MBDA.
In April 2025, 21 State Attorneys General filed a lawsuit seeking to put a stop to the destruction of the MBDA. In May 2025, the federal district court issued a Preliminary Injunction that prohibited further implementation ofTrump’s Executive Order and directed the Commerce Department to reverse its dismantling of the MBDA. In November 2025, a Permanent Injunction ordered the Trump Administration to reverse its actions and restoreMBDA’s personnel and grantmaking capacities. The Commerce Department ignored these court orders and took several actions to dismantle the MBDA, including terminating the funding for at least nine MBDA business centers and sending Reduction in Force (RIF) notices to terminate the last 24 employees still working at the agency.
“[N]ew information has come to light indicating Secretary Lutnick and other Department officials may have violated — and may continue to violate — a May 13, 2025, Preliminary Injunction and subsequent November 21, 2025, Permanent Injunction issued by a federal district court ordering the Trump Administration to reverse its actions against the MBDA and restore its personnel and grantmaking capacities,”the senators wrote to GAO Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown.“Congress has a compelling interest in ensuring executive branch officials comply with court orders guarding against unlawful attempts to dismantle federal agencies like theMBDA, which Congress statutorily authorized and funded on a bipartisan basis.”
“Although the Department later rescinded the RIFs after Congress passed legislation requiring it do so and before the district court could rule on whether the Department’s actions violated the court’s order, the court admonished the Administration ‘that it is never acceptable to violate a court order’ and warned any such violations may ‘warrant further Court action,’”the senators continued.“These developments, coupled with the Department’s lack oftransparency regarding its actions toward the MBDA, raise serious questions about the sufficiency of the Department’s protocols for ensuring compliance with the district court’s orders and whether Department leadership is violating the court’s clear commands.”
The senators concluded their letter by urging the GAO to expand its investigation to include possible violations offederal district court orders by Commerce Department leadership and to assess whether the Department has taken adequate steps to ensure compliance.
The letter was led by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). Alongside Heinrich and Luján, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.).
The senators’ letter follows aJune 2025letter in which Heinrich and Luján slammed the Trump Administration for its illegal dismantling of the MBDA and asked the GAO to investigate whether actions by Trump Commerce Department officials or others in the Administration violated Congressional directives, the extent to which they undermined MBDA’s Congressional mandate, and whether any officials have engaged in misconduct.
Senator Luján championed an amendment in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make the MBDA permanent. He also secured passage of a provision to double the funding level for the MBDA’s Rural Business Development Center Program and to expand this program’s eligibility to include all Minority-Serving Institutions, which will expand opportunities for New Mexico’s colleges and universities. Additionally, in 2021, Senator Luján championed legislation to make permanent and expand the reach of the Minority Business Development Agency.
In May 2025, Heinrich sent two letters to Keith Sonderling, Acting Under Secretary of the MBDA, demanding heturn over key documents and information related to the dismantling of the MBDAand that hedetail the Trump Administration’s compliance with a federal court injunctionblocking their illegal dismantling of the agency.
In October 2024, Heinrichled the unveiling of a new, larger office space for the New Mexico Minority Business Development Center in Albuquerque to expand support for local businesses across the state. Heinrich wrote the legislative provision that established and funded the New Mexico Business Center in 2020, securing more than$2.5 million in federal resources through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agencyfor its staffing and programming.
The full text of the letter is availableHEREand below.
Acting Comptroller Brown:
OnJune 3, 2025, we requested the Government AccountabilityOffice (GAO) conduct a comprehensive reviewofthe actions takenbythe DepartmentofCommerce (Department) under the leadershipofSecretary HowardLutnicktounilaterally dismantle the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). Since then, new informationhas cometolight indicating SecretaryLutnickand other Departmentofficials may have violated—and may continuetoviolate—a May 13, 2025, Preliminary Injunctionand subsequent November 21, 2025, Permanent Injunctionissuedbya federal districtcourtordering the Trump Administrationtoreverse its actions against theMBDAand restore its personnel and grantmaking capacities. Congress has a compelling interest in ensuring executive branchofficials comply withcourt ordersguarding against unlawful attemptstodismantle federal agencies like theMBDA, which Congress statutorily authorized and fundedona bipartisan basis. Accordingly, we requestGAOexpanditsongoing inquirytoevaluate whether SecretaryLutnickor other Administrationofficials have violated thecourt’sordersand assess the adequacyofthe policies and protocols the Department has implemented, if any,toensure compliance.
OnJanuary 29, 2025, SecretaryLutnickappeared before the Senate CommitteeonCommerce, Science, and Transportationand testified he did not support dismantling theMBDA. However,onMarch 14, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14238, which purportedtoeliminate theMBDAand other federal agencies. Notwithstanding his testimony, SecretaryLutnickproceededtounilaterally dismantle the agency—terminating almost allofMBDA’s staff and canceling its grant programs.Ofthe 40 individuals employed at theMBDAbefore the EO,only five employees remained working at the agency after SecretaryLutnickbegan implementing the order.
OnApril 4, 2025, 21 State Attorneys General filed a lawsuit seeking an injunctionagainst any further implementationofthe EO. As partofthat case, anMBDAemployee submitted a sworn declarationtothecourtexplaining how the remaining five employees would “not be capableofcarrying outMBDA’s statutorily mandated functions, administering its existing programs, or spending its appropriated funds” because it was “not possible for five employeestomonitor the existing portfolioofgrants for waste, fraud, and abuse, ortoensure that they are being used for authorized purposes consistent with the grant award,” allofwhich “requires consistent contact with granteestomonitor and evaluate grantee performance, train, conduct site-visits, andtoensure compliance” with the grants’ terms. TheMBDAemployee also informed thecourtthat “MBDAallowed its contract with Salesforcetoexpire,” making it “particularly difficult”toadequately monitor grants without this management platform.
OnMay 13, 2025, the federal districtcourtissued a Preliminary Injunctionthat both prohibited any further implementation ofthe EO and ordered the Departmenttoreverse its implementation. Thisincluded “tak[ing] all necessary stepstorestore”MBDAemployees “involuntarily placedonleave or involuntarily terminated” and “resum[ing] the processing, disbursement, and paymentofalready awarded funding” and any “funds previously withheld”tothe States duetothe EO. Following the districtcourt’s order, multiple Senators sent a lettertothe Acting Under Secretary forMBDAseeking informationabout how the agency intendedtocomply with this Preliminary Injunction—but, consistent with SecretaryLutnick’s patternofstonewalling Congress, the Department has refusedtoprovide any relevant information.
Despite thecourt’s clear order, the Department has taken several actions that appeartoviolate its terms. First, in a September 2, 2025, lettertotheOfficeofInspector General, the Acting DirectorofMBDABusiness Centers revealed that the Department had “terminated or discontinued” funding for at least nineMBDAbusiness centers asofAugust 29, 2025—months after the districtcourt’s ordertook effect. Then,onOctober 10, 2025, the Department sent Reductionin Force (RIF) noticestothe 24 employees who then-remained working at theMBDAstating their positions were being eliminated duetosupposed “lackoffunding” and because their functions “are not consistent with the Secretary’s priorities.”
The Department implausibly claimed the RIF—which would eliminate every employee working at theMBDAand leaveonlyone political appointee responsible for carrying out allofthe agency’s required functions —would “not prevent the Department from fulfilling its statutory obligations.” In a sworn declaration, anMBDAemployee explainedtothecourthow effectuating these obligations requires “experiencedMBDAemployeestoexpend approximately 20 hours per week per grant” and affirmed it is “not feasible thatone or two political appointees who lack training and experience in grants management” could carry out those duties. Although the Department later rescinded the RIFs after Congress passed legislationrequiring it do so and before the districtcourtcould ruleonwhether the Department’s actions violated thecourt’s order, thecourtadmonished the Administration“that it is never acceptabletoviolate acourtorder” and warned any such violations may “warrant furtherCourtaction.”
These developments, coupled with the Department’s lackoftransparency regarding its actionstoward theMBDA, raise serious questions about the sufficiencyofthe Department’s protocols for ensuring compliance with the districtcourt’sordersand whether Department leadership is violating thecourt’s clear commands. Therefore,tosupplement the review requested in our June 3, 2025 letter, we requestGAOalso examine and provide a detailed reportonthe Department’s compliance—or lack thereof—with the May 13, 2025, Preliminary Injunctionand November 21, 2025, Permanent Injunctionissuedbythe DistrictCourtofRhode Island in StateofRhode Island v. Trump, and any policies or protocols the Department has implementedtoensure its compliance.
Sincerely,
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