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WASHINGTON (AP) — More than $200 billion may have been stolen from two large COVID-19 relief initiatives, according to new estimates from a federal watchdog investigating federally funded programs that helped small businesses survive the worst public health crisis in more than a hundred years. The numbers issued Tuesday by the U.S. Small Business Administration inspector general are much greater than the office’s previous projections and underscore how vulnerable the Paycheck Protection and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs were to fraudsters, particularly during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

A group of young men allegedly ripped off $2 million in COVID-19 relief funds by stealing personal information from people in the assistance program, funneling their money to personal bank accounts, and withdrawing the cash at banks in Brooklyn and Queens. Many of the young men flaunted their ill-gotten fortunes on social media, posting pictures of themselves with large piles of cash, court documents show. Six of the eight defendants — ranging in age from 18 to 25 — were charged Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court, documents show. Two suspects — Armani Miller, 24, and Johan Santos, 19 — are...

The Senate on Saturday continued with their vote-a-rama, where they pulled an all-nighter to vote on the Democrats' $1.9 trillion pork-filled COVID relief bill, dubbed the American Rescue Plan. Republicans offered a number of common-sense amendments that Democrats shot down. These are just a few of them. Hold States Accountable for Nursing Home DeathsSen. Tim Scott (R-SC) offered an amendment that would have held states accountable for nursing home deaths. His amendment comes after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's (D) administration was caught altering the number of nursing home deaths that took place under his watch."What my amendment does is...

It didn’t take the swamp long to come back in full force after former President Trump left office, and there’s no better example of that than the COVID-19 relief bill, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said. Speaking to Fox News’ Sean Hannity, McCarthy said that “only 9 percent of it goes to COVID.” “What they are doing is telling you the swamp is back. Everything you have warned your viewers about before the election is coming true in this bill,” he said. Fox News’s Greg Gutfeld called the bill the “political version of money laundering” and compared it to “Breaking...

Before the Biden administration takes another $1.9 trillion out of the nation’s wallet for COVID-19 relief, fiscal hawks are urging the White House to first spent about $1 trillion in unspent previously approved virus money. According to a Republican Study Committee tally, $4 trillion has already been appropriated for relief, and Biden’s plan would grow that 50%, an amount even GOP supporters of a big coronavirus package call too rich. The government is sitting on about $1 trillion in unspent money. House leaders have asked the administration to identify that funding, but so far, the White House has refused. “Unfortunately,...

The roughly $900 billion stimulus package is on its way to President Donald Trump for his signature, though it’s unclear whether he will sign the bill that would deliver aid to Americans, mutliple news outlets reported on Thursday. The massive 5,593-page bill, which includes the $1.4 trillion omnibus, is being flown on the plane to Florida, where Trump is staying at his Mar-a-Lago resort for Christmas...

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans shot down a Democratic bid on Thursday to pass President Donald Trump's longshot, end-of-session demand for $2,000 direct payments to most Americans before signing a long-overdue COVID-19 relief bill. The made-for-TV clash came as the Democratic-controlled chamber convened for a pro forma session scheduled in anticipation of a smooth Washington landing for the massive, year-end legislative package, which folds together a $1.4 trillion governmentwide spending with the hard-fought COVID-19 package and dozens of unrelated but bipartisan bills. Thursday's unusual 12-minute House session session instead morphed into unconvincing theater in response to Trump's veto musings about...

Several White House advisors reportedly attempted to stop President Donald Trump from publishing the fiery video that slammed Congress over the monstrous COVID-19 relief bill and threatened to veto if the "disgrace" is not amended. "He vetoed them. GOP leadership wanted to talk tonight afterward, but the President said there was nothing more to talk about," One America News Network's Jack Posobiec reported. "In recent days the President has spent less time listening to advisors who he sees as failing to secure election integrity and who are telling him to concede to Biden. He is now following his instincts and...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell now finds himself in the hot seat as Democrats begin rallying behind President Donald Trump's efforts to more than double the direct payment checks Congress secured in the just-passed coronavirus relief bill, leaving the fate of the aid package in limbo. During remarks Tuesday night, Trump signaled he would not sign the bill, which was passed with overwhelming support late Monday, unless Congress included $2,000 direct checks to Americans, a proposal that flies in the face of the demands made by many Senate Republicans, some of whom had a tough time swallowing the $600 checks...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went berserk on CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday when he called her out for refusing to make a deal on Covid relief.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump If I am sent a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200), they will go out to our great people IMMEDIATELY. I am ready to sign right now. Are you listening Nancy? @MarkMeadows @senatemajldr @kevinomccarthy @SpeakerPelosi @SenSchumer 9:18 PM · Oct 6, 2020

President Donald Trump attacked Democrats as “heartless” for blocking coronavirus aid, including more stimulus payments for individuals. “Democrats are ‘heartless,'” Trump wrote on Twitter. “They don’t want to give STIMULUS PAYMENTS to people who desperately need the money, and whose fault it was NOT that the plague came in from China.”

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Democratic leadership in the House rejected a bipartisan $1.5 trillion coronavirus aid proposal that includes a second round of $1,200 direct payments to Americans. The plan, unveiled by a group calling itself Problem Solvers Caucus, also included $500 billion for cities and states, unemployment insurance of $600 a week, increased SNAP benefits and rental assistance. A set of powerful Democratic committee chairs swung against the proposal saying it “leaves too many needs unmet” — a leadership effort that signals that the Problem Solvers bill is going nowhere. No. 2 House Democrat Steny Hoyer of Maryland said the...