Initial difficulties in launching a small business lending plan through the recently passed coronavirus relief bill are being ironed out, and if the program runs out of money, the Trump administration will "go back for more," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday.
"There's extraordinary demand," Mnuchin told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo. "If you can't get the loan today or tomorrow, don't worry, there will be money."
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is "very much" looking at reopening parts of the economy, said Mnuchin.
"There are parts of the country, like New York, where obviously this (coronavirus) is very, very concerning," said Mnuchin. "There are other parts of the country where it’s not."
Because of the legislation that has been passed to date, there is "$6 trillion to put in the economy, we’re meeting with all the advisers on the airlines this week, we’re working very quickly on that,” Mnuchin said. “So I can assure you, the president has instructed us to get this money into the economy fast.”
Meanwhile, there has been "extraordinary demand" for the small business loans, said Mnuchin, which work by allowing money to pay employees for eight weeks, plus another 25% for overhead costs.
"We did clarify that you need to use at least 75% of the money to pay workers," said Mnuchin.
Bartiromo noted that there have been employers complaining that if they hold employees without having revenue coming in, they will end up closing their businesses regardless of the loan money.
There also has been discussion on a fourth round of stimulus legislation, but Trump has made it a priority to get money out that has already been approved.
"This is a very difficult time for American workers and the American economy," he said. "This isn't a normal financial slowdown this; this is where the government has ordered businesses to be closed...I think certain parts of the economy you are going to see come back immediately but certain things are going to take a little bit longer."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.