Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Small Business Administration, was confirmed by the Senate in a bipartisan vote on Wednesday.

Loeffler, who served as the co-chairwoman of Trump’s second inauguration committee, was confirmed 52 to 46. 

The Senate’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee voted 12-7 in early February to advance her nomination to the Senate floor. During her confirmation hearing, she sparred with Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), the ranking member of the panel, over Trump’s federal funding freeze. The Massachusetts senator asked her if she thought it was lawful for the Trump administration to pause the funding. 

“I disagree with the premise of your question because the money was, certainly with regard to the agencies, discretionary in many cases, but I fully agree with President Trump’s decision to stop wasteful spending,” Loeffler said.

Markey called for a pause on Loeffler’s confirmation after Trump fired SBA Inspector General Hannibal Ware in January, but her nomination still moved forward.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), the chairwoman of the panel, called Loeffler “the champion small businesses need” in an op-ed in the Washington Examiner.

“Throughout her career, she rose through the ranks at multiple companies due to her determination and grit. She also started many businesses and knows what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur,” Ernst wrote. 

“Most importantly, she knows what it means to be overrun by Washington’s bureaucratic overreach — and that the government must instead get out of the way so businesses can thrive,” she added.

The former senator lost a special election in 2021 to Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) after she was appointed to Georgia’s Senate seat by Gov. Brian Kemp to replace Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA). She is also a former chief executive of cryptocurrency trading platform Bakt and a former co-owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream. 

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During her time in Congress, Loeffler was a staunch Trump ally and said she planned to vote against certifying her state’s electoral results in an effort to upend former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

She later changed her mind about opposing the election results in Congress after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and ultimately voted to certify Biden’s win. She also appeared as a witness before the grand jury in Trump’s 2020 election interference case in Georgia.