NYT Reporter Asks If White House Will ‘Claw Back’ COVID Relief Loan From Gun Manufacturer After Uvalde Shooting

New York Times White House correspondent Michael Shear asked whether President Joe Biden might move to “claw back” a pandemic-related business loan obtained by gun manufacturer Daniel Defense.

Shear claimed that the 18-year-old shooter who barricaded himself inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas — killing 19 students and two adults before law enforcement officers killed him — had used a firearm made by Daniel Defense. He then asked whether the White House would consider pulling back the $3 million PPP loan in light of the fact that their product had been used to perpetrate a mass shooting.

WATCH:

.@shearm asks whether the White House plans to “claw back” the PPP loan obtained (legally) by the company that made the firearm used by Uvalde shooter.@presssec asks for the name of the company. pic.twitter.com/gBm6ThIfBb

— Virginia Kruta (@VAKruta) May 26, 2022

“First, apparently the company that sold the shooter his rifles received a $3 million PPP loan under the last administration,” Shear began. “Do you know if there’s any effort by this administration to claw that money back?”

“So this is the first I’m hearing about this, so I would have to go back to the team and look into it,” Jean-Pierre replied. “Do you know the name of the company?”

“The company is Daniel Defense, D-a-n-i-e-l Defense, apparently they received a $3.1 million PPP loan right at the beginning,” Shear continued. “My colleagues have been writing about it apparently today, but if … assuming that is confirmed, would the president do you think support the idea of trying to claw that money back?”

“I — honestly, Michael, I need to check with the team and make sure that is actually factual, but I need to check with the team,” Jean-Pierre said again.

Daniel Defense, located in Savannah, Georgia, was founded in 2001 and is one of the largest private gun manufacturers in the United States — thanks to millions in government contracts for weapons components that are used by the U.S. military.

Since the Uvalde shooter bragged about purchasing his firearm from Daniel Defense, the company has faced a barrage of attacks on social media — many critical of a photo posted by the company showing a young boy holding a rifle across his lap. “Train up a child in the way he should go,” the caption reads. “And when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

The cowards @DanielDefense, who allegedly sold one of the weapons used to murder children in Texas yesterday, deleted this tweet and locked their account some time this morning.

But the internet is forever. pic.twitter.com/c5nh6wtWcj

— Gabe Rosenberg (@Gaber205) May 25, 2022

In the days since the shooting, Daniel Defense has made its official Twitter account private and the company has reportedly been removed from the list of vendors scheduled to appear at Friday’s scheduled annual meeting of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Steve Reed, the company’s vice president of marketing, issued a statement on the tragedy. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic events in Texas this week. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and community devastated by this evil act,” he said, adding that the company would cooperate with federal, state, and local law enforcement.