Emily Jashinsky

has got to go.

Two Democrat lawmakers filing performative articles of impeachment against two top Trump cabinet officials.

And a fast food chain takes a stand against a viral meme craze.

You know the one.

All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

federal contracting program intended for, quote, experienced small business owners who are socially and economically disadvantaged, including Black, Hispanic, Native, and other groups, now the target of investigations by the Small Business Administration, or SBA, the Treasury Department, and the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship,

amid accusations of rampant fraud.

Historically, about 5% of government contracts were set aside under what is known as the 8A program, the Biden administration tripling the goal to 15% of total government contracts.

In fiscal year 2024, the program handing out $40 billion in awards.

In June, one government official and three executives pleading guilty to a decade-long bribery scheme involving at least 14 contracts totaling more than $550 million.

Prosecutors saying the government official sidestepped the competitive bidding process to steer lucrative contracts under the 8A program to executives who were paying him kickbacks.

SBA Administrator Kelly Leffler ordering a review of the program to identify similar examples of misconduct.

In October, investigative journalist James O'Keefe releasing a video further exposing alleged fraud within the program.

The director of contracts for an 8A company explaining to O'Keefe how businesses in the program are able to win the contracts, then pass off the majority of the work through subcontractors.

The director telling O'Keeffe their company completes about 20% of the work, passing off the remaining 80% to other contractors in violation of rules regarding subcontracting.

That company is now under investigation by the SBA.

O'Keefe's reporting triggering an additional wave of investigations.

The Treasury Department in November announcing its own probe into the program, covering about $9 billion worth of contracts.

Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, head of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, sending letters to 22 agency heads, including the Department of War, Interior, DOJ, and more, requesting that they pause 8A contracting and conduct internal reviews of those contracts within their agencies.

Yesterday, Senator Ernst's committee holding a hearing on the matter.