Sen. Kelly Loeffler is removing herself from a Senate Agriculture subcommittee, in an effort to quell ongoing scrutiny over her stock trades and finances.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Georgia Republican, said the decision to leave the subcommittee on commodities, risk management and trade was another way to demonstrate transparency.
“It’s now abundantly clear that the media and her adversaries will stop at nothing to attack her and take away from the important work taking place during this public health care crisis,” Loeffler’s spokesperson said. “The senator continues to serve on the full Agriculture Committee and her focus remains on delivering results and relief for Georgia’s farmers and all hard-working families across the state.”
The Daily Caller was the first to report Loeffler’s request.
The move comes as Loeffler’s opponents continue to attack her over her financial transactions, and Wednesday’s news didn’t bring her a reprieve. A spokesperson for Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), who is challenging Loeffler for her seat in a special election in November, was quick to chastise the senator’s decision.
“What about the Agriculture Committee? The Joint Economic Committee? The U.S. Senate?,” asked Dan McLagan, Collins’ spokesperson. “She has five conflicts of interest before her first chai latte every day and her campaign is starting to look like a ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch.”
Loeffler came under fire in March for selling off millions of dollars in stocks after receiving a classified briefing on the coronavirus in January. She has defended herself by saying the stock sales were made by a third party adviser. In April, Loeffler took her defense a step further and pledged to liquidate all of her individual stock holdings. But she faced additional scrutiny Wednesday, after the New York Times reported she received millions in awards upon leaving her role as chief executive of Bakkt.
She is also married to Jeffrey Sprecher, chairman of the Intercontinental Exchange and chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.
The freshman senator may be taking a hit politically amid the controversy over her finances. A recent poll from the GOP firm Cygnal taken on behalf of state House Republicans had Collins nearly 20 points ahead.
The November election is an all-party context and has nearly two dozen candidates. Gov. Brian Kemp appointed her in December to replace Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, who retired for health reasons.