Los Angeles Times
December 10, 2020
Nine companies affiliated with Gov. Gavin Newsom took the loans to help small businesses survive the pandemic. Newsom put his holdings into a blind trust and so would not have participated in the decision to obtain the loans.
It was a surprisingly large loan, said Project On Government Oversight senior policy analyst Sean Moulton. The nonpartisan independent watchdog is tracking $1.6 trillion in overall pandemic relief spending, with the Paycheck Protection Program the largest single program.
“It seems to be a small business, but it got a lot of money. I’m not sure how the company justifies taking that much money when there were a lot of companies looking to get assistance,” Moulton said. “You hope they’re using it wisely because there’s an opportunity cost there — that money didn’t get used for another small business that may be out of business now.”