On Monday, information regarding recipients of at least $150,000 in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program was released. Among the recipients are a number of Trump administration-affiliated businesses, including the family business of Transportation Sec. Elaine Chao, which Newsweek reports is run by her father and sister, and a trucking company co-founded by Agriculture Sec. Sonny Perdue. Several companies and businesses with ties to the family of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and a White House adviser, also received loans through the program: The New York Observer, a news site owned by Kushner’s brother-in-law’s investment firm, received up to $1 million in aid; a Hebrew academy in New Jersey that bears Joseph Kushner’s name and is supported by the family was approved for up to $2 million in loans. Yeezy, Kanye West’s fashion line, also received between $2 million and $5 million through the Paycheck Protection Program, claiming that it helped save his company’s 106 jobs. A Newsweek analysis found at least 6 companies with ties to members of Congress applied for millions in loans through the program, including businesses with direct ties to Reps. Roger Williams (R-TX), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Rick Allen (R-GA), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Kevin Hern (R-OK), and Devin Nunes (R-CA). All of the representatives listed above voted against a bill to require the disclosure of recipients of loans in excess of $2 million. Initially, Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin implied that the names of recipients would not be released to the public. That decision was met with outrage from Democrats, who pressured for more transparency and accountability. Eventually, the Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department agreed to release the names of recipients who received more than $150,000, though exact dollar amounts are still not public information.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/steve...era-country-club-got-millions-in-covid-relief Steve Mnuchin’s Exclusive LA Country Club Got Millions in COVID Relief The Riviera Country Club closed down because of COVID. Then it got a bailout from the department run by a man who it counted as a member. An exclusive California golf course that has counted Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin among its members is seeing plenty of the taxpayers’ green. The Riviera Country Club, located in a posh enclave of Los Angeles, received $2 million to $5 million in assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program—a multibillion-dollar initiative intended to carry small businesses and their employees through the COVID-19 pandemic. Mnuchin, whose Department of the Treasury has assisted in the operation of the program, disclosed his membership in the elite institution to the U.S. Senate during his confirmation process in 2017. The Small Business Administration released PPP recipient data on Monday amid mounting pressure to do so.
The PPP loans are intended to help small businesses, and without a deep understanding of recipient data, so Trump and Mnuchin must release the list of recipients immediately.