President Donald Trump’s family businesses are included in a category of companies barred from receiving certain kinds of aid from the Treasury Department to ease the economic impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The stimulus deal the Senate agreed to on Wednesday will prohibit loans or investments from Treasury programs to be used to benefit businesses controlled by the President, the vice president, the heads of executive departments and members of Congress, according to a draft of the legislation.
The prohibition extends to the children, spouses and in-laws of any of these government officials.
In a letter to Democratic senators which was went to the press, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer touted the prohibition as one of the “significant improvements” made to the stimulus package in negotiations.
The provision was part of the largest, most sweeping emergency aid package in the history of the United States, which is expected to be passed by the Senate on Wednesday. The House is expected to — at some point in the next day or two — follow suit.
The hospitality and travel industries have been warning that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their business has been worse than 9/11.
Trump’s businesses appear to have been suffering as a result of coronavirus slowdowns and shutdowns, too. Ahead of his inauguration in 2017, Trump passed control of the Trump Organization to his sons. However, he did not divest his assets in the company.
The Washington Post reported that Trump’s Mar-a-Lago and Las Vegas properties have been temporarily shuttered as a result of orders issued by the governors in those states to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus. And at Trump’s Washington, DC, hotel, 160 workers were let go.
The legislation bars Trump’s businesses from a basket of Treasury Department loans, loan guarantees, and other investments, but it does not bar the Trump Organization’s employees from collecting unemployment benefits.
The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.
