WASHINGTON—Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday defended his decision not to extend funding for several Federal Reserve lending facilities, calling on Congress to reappropriate the nearly $500 billion to help small businesses and unemployed workers.
The Treasury Department’s announcement Thursday that it would allow the funding to expire after Dec. 31 prompted a rare statement of objection from the Fed, which wants to maintain the lending programs as a backstop in the face of the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
It also fueled speculation by some commentators that the Trump administration was attempting to constrain President-elect Joe Biden’s ability to respond to the economic fallout from the pandemic as Covid-19 cases surge in the U.S.
TAo read the full article, click here.