Loans to restart Monday

Small business loans to restart Monday, Rubio says

President Trump is expected to sign $320 billion in new funding into law on Friday.

By ZACHARY WARMBRODT

The Paycheck Protection Program small business rescue will likely restart April 27, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said, replenished with $320 billion in new funding that President Donald Trump is expected to sign into law later today.

Rubio, who is chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee, made the announcement on Twitter this morning. In addition to new funding, Rubio said the small business loan program will have "an additional significant amount of money from #PPPloans being returned by several publicly traded large companies."

The Trump administration on Thursday directed large, publicly traded firms that had received the loans to return the money following a huge backlash over companies like Shake Shack and Ruth's Hospitality Group getting access to the aid. The pressure appeared to get immediate results, with Ruth's announcing that it planned to pay back $20 million in loans.

Rubio on Thursday night announced that he was asking several large banks including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America to explain whether they prioritized certain customers over others, following the revelations of big companies securing the loans.

The Small Business Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Rubio's restart timeline. As of Thursday, banks said they were in the dark about the exact timing that SBA would begin approving applications again.