A top Trump economic adviser said 'it couldn't be easier' for his wife to get a bank loan from the troubled small business loan program

• Kudlow said "it couldn't be easier" for his wife to get a small business loan under the troubled Paycheck Protection Program, ABC News first reported.
• The ambitious coronavirus relief program had a rocky rollout earlier this month as many small business owners reported difficulty filing for loans.
• "She went to a local, community bank up by our place in Connecticut and apparently it's just a one-page form, that's all it is," Kudlow said in a Politico video interview on April 7
• But there was no indication that Judy Kudlow received favorable treatment and the White House defended her.
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Top Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow said it "couldn't be easier" for his wife to take out a small business loan from the troubled Paycheck Protection Program created under the $2 trillion stimulus package last month.

ABC News first reported that Judy Kudlow had applied for a loan under the auspices of the $349 billion small business program aimed at providing economic relief during the coronavirus pandemic. The program guarantees bank loans for small businesses and forgives them if owners use most of the money to cover employee payrolls.

The ambitious program had a rocky rollout earlier this month, causing widespread exasperation among business owners who struggled to file applications.

Larry Kudlow, the director of Trump's National Economic Council, said his wife needed help as "a self-employed artist painter" and touted that it was relatively easy for her.

"She went to a local, community bank up by our place in Connecticut and apparently it's just a one-page form, that's all it is. It couldn't be easier," Kudlow said in a Politico video interview on April 7

The economic adviser has a maximum net worth of $2 million, according to a Bloomberg report in 2018. There was no immediate indication that Kudlow's wife had received favorable treatment.

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"Larry Kudlow's wife is a small business owner and private citizen. Any speculation that there is something improper or nefarious taking place with her application is just false and more media spin," White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere told ABC News.

The Trump administration and Democratic congressional leaders have recently sparred over replenishing the funding for the program, which is expected to run out as early as Thursday.

Democrats are seeking to add a layer of conditions for further spending on the program, such as requirements that some loans be directed toward minority-owned small businesses.

The New York Times reported that the Small Business Administration had already approved 1.4 million loans totaling $315 billion as of Wednesday evening.

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