Data from the Trump administration shows nearly 150,000 New Jersey companies that received a combined $17.2 billion from a federal aid program meant to offer a lifeline to businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing recession.

The U.S. Small Business Administration unveiled the names of millions of businesses that received money under the aid program.

They identified the nearly 22,000 businesses that received more than $150,000 of aid money, known as the Paycheck Protection Program. Federal officials withheld the names of the 126,000 New Jersey companies that were awarded less than $150,000 – as was done for recipients of those amounts in every state.

Passed in late March as part of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the PPP program offers low-interest loans of up to $10 million, which are forgiven if the business uses the money on expenses such as payroll, rent, utilities and other expenses during the pandemic.

Many businesses were ordered to shut their doors, scale back operations in a bid to cut down on the in-person contact that might provide the virus with new hosts.

Others have simply seen a steep drop in patronage, be it because of the stay-at-home order, or people themselves cutting back spending as they find themselves without work.

Luckily for those businesses, U.S. President Donald Trump approved a bill giving companies until Aug. 8 to apply for the remaining $130 billion out of the $600 billion Congress allocated.

The previous deadline was June 30, and the program was ramped up to loosen rules for how businesses can spend money and how long they have to spend it and extends when they have to repay the money.

But the program has fallen under intense scrutiny and criticism from lawmakers, media outlets and watchdog groups, over whether the federal aid money went to well-financed companies that did not need it, rather than struggling Main Street, mom and pop shops.

The administration initially resisted publishing the names of recipients, and only those that were publicly traded were identified through filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

High profile examples include the Los Angeles Lakers, which was pressured to return its $4.4 million loan; the Kura Sushi chain, which returned its $6 million loan; Shake Shack, which returned $10 million; and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, which returned its $20 million loan.

The largest chunk of PPP loans went to restaurants, the offices of doctors, lawyers and dentists, religious organizations and hair and nail salons. Loan data is not available beyond the ranges of $150,000 to $350,000, $350,000 to $1 million, $1 million to $2 million, $2 million to $5 million, and $5 million to $10 million.

Cohere Communications LLC –  a New York City communications firm where the New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has a financial stake – was awarded a loan of between $350,000 and $1 million, in order to keep 21 workers on the payroll.

“It’s the first I heard,” Murphy said when asked about it on Monday. “I can’t remember the last time I spoke with anybody associated with the company.”

Though he assured, “I played no role whatsoever.”