Those receiving coronavirus relief checks will now see the words, “President Donald J. Trump” printed on their checks.
The Treasury Department finalized the decision late Monday, with some senior officials saying that the move may slow delivery of the checks, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. It will be the first time that a president’s name has appeared on an IRS disbursement.
A Treasury spokeswoman confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that the physical checks would bear the president’s name but said no delays in getting the checks out to those in need are expected.
“Economic Impact Payment checks are scheduled to go out on time and exactly as planned — there is absolutely no delay whatsoever. In fact, we expect the first checks to be in the mail early next week, which is well in advance of when the first checks went out in 2008 and well in advance of initial estimates,” she said.
The coronavirus relief payments started landing in bank accounts last week and will continue to be directly deposited this week. The addition of the president’s name only affects the approximately 70 million who will receive physical checks in the mail.
Prior to the addition of his name, administration officials said that Trump spoke to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin about him formally signing the checks, though presidents are not permitted to be authorized signers for payments from the Treasury over partisan concerns. Instead, the checks will reportedly show Trump’s name in the memo line below the words “Economic Impact Payment.”
Instead of the president’s signature, the checks will include the signature from the Treasury Department division that is charged with printing the relief checks.
Coronavirus relief checks began being deposited into bank accounts last week. The CARES Act provides residents with incomes below $75,000 a $1,200 direct payment. An additional $500 is being provided for each dependent under 17 years old.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Treasury Department to comment but did not immediately receive a response.
