Trump-Affiliated Companies, Cabinet Members Among Recipients of Small Business Loans

Companies with ties to President Donald Trump surfaced in a list of virus relief recipients Monday, as did more than 88,000 loans for religious organizations, a number of investment firms and some U.S. units of Chinese companies.

Recipients also included nonprofit groups that advocate against such massive government spending.

Meanwhile, some advocates for small businesses said that a massive release of data from the $669 billion Paycheck Protection Program -- the U.S. government’s largest coronavirus relief operation -- contained too many gaps to allow for evaluating its effectiveness. The data can be found here.

The information on almost 4.9 million loans, released Monday morning on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s website, revealed that big-name law firms and cultural institutions including Carnegie Hall were approved for the program. Several investment firms questioned their inclusion in the data, saying they considered tapping so-called PPP loans, but didn’t.

he disclosures, which come after members of Congress and others voiced concern about the level of transparency surrounding the PPP, don’t provide full details for any loans. Names of companies that borrowed less than $150,000 – a group that comprises the vast majority of the program’s borrowers – weren’t made public. And larger borrowers’ loans were disclosed only in broad ranges of values, such as $5 million to $10 million.

The program, passed hurriedly by Congress in March, was designed to provide small firms with loans of as much as $10 million, based on a company’s average monthly payroll before the pandemic. The loans can become grants if borrowers use the proceeds mostly to pay workers -- with some spending allowed for rent and overhead costs. Almost from the beginning, the PPP was dogged by controversy as some publicly traded firms tapped it. Many returned loans after their borrowing drew criticism.

The list of firms that were approved for relief loans features well-known restaurant groups, retailers and law firms such Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP -- which includes one of Trump’s top lawyers, Marc Kasowitz. The firm is listed as receiving between $5 million and $10 million to retain 402 jobs, the data show.

Companies owned by the family of Jared Kushner, the White House senior adviser who is Trump’s son-in-law, also received loans from the program.

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