Democrats insisted on, and Republicans agreed to, language in a $2.2 trillion coronavirus financial rescue package that bars participation in a $500 billion loan program by any company controlled by the president, top White House officials, members of Congress, or their spouses, children, or children-in-law. But "even the fine print in a near-final 880-page version of the bill has fine print," The New York Times reports, and that provision, meant to block President Trump from profiting off the massive bill, is no exception.
"It turns out that the provision might not preclude funds from going to companies owned by the family of Mr. Trump's son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner, while Mr. Trump's companies would not be barred from benefiting from other elements of the bill intended to help broad swaths of American business," the Times reports. Trump hotels, for example, will be eligible for the $350 billion in small-business loans or grants, thanks to lobbying by the hotel industry, and "the Trump Organization could also benefit from the $15 billion change to the tax code won by restaurants and retailers."
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