(AP) – Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is defending his decision to close down a number of emergency Federal Reserve loan programs at a time when coronavirus cases are surging. But Democrats were unconvinced with his arguments Tuesday, sayin Mnuchin’s actions are politically motivated, and take away tools the Biden administration could use to help support the economy.
Mnuchin argued that the programs he decided not to extend past Dec. 31 were being lightly utilized and the more than $400 billion allocated for those Fed loan programs could be put to better use if Congress moved that money into relief programs to help small businesses and unemployed workers.
