Trump Will Be Asking Big Businesses To Return The Coronavirus Relief Funds 

President

Trump Will Be Asking Big Businesses To Return The Coronavirus Relief Funds 

On Tuesday, President Trump said that he is going to request large businesses and institutions such as Harvard University to return the funds that they received as part of a coronavirus relief package. 

I’m going to request it,” Trump told reporters at the White House, naming only the Ivy League school. “Harvard is going to pay back the money. They shouldn’t be taking it.”

“I’m not going to mention any other names, but when I saw Harvard — they have one of the largest endowments anywhere in the country, maybe in the world. They’re going to pay back the money,” the president added.

The whopping $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package signed last month included hundreds of billions of dollars for small businesses impacted by state shutdowns due to the coronavirus. While separately allocating billions to support higher education institutions.

It was reported last week that Harvard would receive more than $8 million in funding.

“Like most colleges and universities, Harvard has been allocated funds as part of the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Harvard has committed that 100% of these emergency higher education funds will be used to provide direct assistance to students facing urgent financial needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Harvard spokesman Jonathan Swain said.

“This financial assistance will be on top of the support the University has already provided to students – including assistance with travel, providing direct aid for living expenses to those with need, and supporting students’ transition to online education,” Swain added.

Trump’s comments came after he was asked about money issued through the PPP, which has come under scrutiny after revelations that major restaurant chains, hotels, and other big businesses were able to receive funds that were meant for businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

Shake Shack, a major restaurant chain with more than 200 locations, announced on Monday that it would return $10 million it received through PPP.

“We have over a million companies that have received this with less than ten workers. There is very broad participation in really small business. I will comment there have been some big businesses that have taken these loans. I was pleased to see that Shake Shack returned the money,” Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said. “The intent of this was not for big public companies that have access to capital.”

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