Larry Kudlow, who should know better, defended a deeply flawed corporate-welfare agency Thursday.

Kudlow, President Trump’s chief economic adviser, delivered the keynote speech at the annual conference of the Export-Import Bank, a federal agency that subsidizes U.S. exports by extending taxpayer-backed financing for foreign buyers. The agency has been hobbled since 2015 because conservative senators have blocked appointees to Ex-Im’s board. Kudlow said the White House needs a fully functioning Ex-Im Bank for economic and national-security purposes.