Pandemic Watchdog Is Probing Mnuchin, Cruz Roles in Fed Lending
Source: Bloomberg
A federal watchdog is looking into former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s decision to roll back the U.S. Federal Reserve’s emergency lending programs at the end of 2020, an issue that has become a point of partisan tension in Congress.
The Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery is also inquiring into Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s role in persuading the central bank to expand the eligibility rules for the Main Street Lending Program to make it easier for oil and gas companies to apply for the low interest rate loans.
The probes were revealed in the watchdog’s quarterly report released Monday.
The investigations, led by Brian Miller -- the special Inspector General in charge of overseeing the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve’s response to the pandemic -- could shed more light on Mnuchin’s decision and legal basis for winding down the programs, which Democrats say was politically motivated.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-01/pandemic-watchdog-is-probing-mnuchin-cruz-roles-in-fed-lending
