Trump's name to be printed on $1,200 coronavirus stimulus checks going out to Americans

WASHINGTON – When Americans receive their anxiously awaited checks from the federal government, which are being sent out to help mitigate the economic hardships caused by the coronavirus outbreak, they may notice the words "President Donald J. Trump" have been added at the bottom.

Trump suggested to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin the idea of adding his signature to the $1,200 paper checks, and the department agreed Monday to add his printed name (but not his actual autograph).

The Treasury Department confirmed to USA TODAY on Wednesday that Trump's name would be on the checks, but claimed that affixing it would not delay delivery of the payments.

"Economic Impact Payment checks are scheduled to go out on time and exactly as planned – there is absolutely no delay whatsoever," a Treasury spokeswoman said in a statement. "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."

Analysis: Trump halts funding to WHO. Experts say we need it now more than ever

She said Treasury and IRS officials "have worked around the clock to get fast and direct economic assistance to hardworking Americans" and said the quick turnaround was a "major achievement."

But The Washington Post, which first reported the story, said senior IRS officials believed the addition of the president's name could slow the printing of the checks.

There were already concerns that the outdated technology used by the IRS could delay the release of the funds, and Chad Hooper, president of the agency's Professional Managers Association, told the Post that changing the computer code to add the president's name could slow things up.

"Any last minute request like this will create a downstream snarl that will result in a delay," Hooper told the Post.

Asked about his name appearing on the checks, Trump said Wednesday he doesn't think it's a "big deal."

"I'm sure people will be very happy to get a big, fat beautiful check," he said.

Warren endorses Biden: Elizabeth Warren endorses Joe Biden for president

This will mark the first time that a president's name has been printed on a stimulus check, Elke Asen, a policy analyst for the nonprofit Tax Foundation told USA TODAY.

A spokesman for Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told USA TODAY in a statement that there was nothing unusual about a president trying to associate their name with an economic stimulus program.

"During economic downturns in 2001 and 2008, President Bush included his name on letters sent in advance of recovery checks," said Grassley's spokesman, Michael Zona. "Notably, attaching a name to a check has a negligible expense, unlike the Obama administration’s use of costly signs across the country at construction sites built as part of the 2009 recovery legislation."

Signs were posted at construction projects funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but former President Barack Obama's name did not appear on them.

In 2001, Bush sent a letter to taxpayers advising them that they would be receiving a rebate check.

"We are pleased to inform you that the United States Congress passed and President George W. Bush signed into law the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, which provides long-term tax relief for all Americans who pay income taxes," the letter said.

But the check itself did not include Bush's name. And according to Nina Olson, the founder of the Center for Taxpayer Rights and former taxpayer advocate for the IRS, then-IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti refused to include a line telling taxpayers the government was "giving you your money back" because he deemed it too political.

Olson said that to avoid the potential for corruption or misuse of funds, a civil servant – not the president or someone appointed by the president – signs the checks.

Rather than endorsing the checks with his signature, the president's name will appear on the memo line of the check, the Treasury Department confirmed.

Trump had previously denied wanting to add his signature to the checks.

When asked at an April 3 news conference if he was considering it, Trump said, "There's millions of checks. I'm going to sign them? No. It's a Trump administration initiative, but do I want to sign them? No. The people are getting their money."

CARES checks: Not everyone is getting a $1,200 coronavirus stimulus check. Here's who will be left out.

Americans who have given the IRS their direct deposit information began to receive the funds on Friday and Mnuchin said he expects about 80 million taxpayers will get the money by Wednesday. Trump's name will not appear on any of those deposits.

Mnuchin told reporters Monday that electronic disbursement is the preferred way of distributing the funds and that they are trying to get the money to as many Americans as possible that way. But millions of Americans, many of them low income, will receive paper checks.

The decision to add the president's name to the checks was derided as self-serving and politically motivated by congressional Democrats, most of whom voted to approve the $2.2 trillion rescue package that included the direct payments to taxpayers.

When are you getting your check?: Here's a new way to find out

"Delaying direct payments to vulnerable families just to print his name on the check is another shameful example of President Trump’s catastrophic failure to treat this crisis with the urgency it demands," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement.

"Thousands of families are running out of money as they lose their jobs. Days and hours matter. But Trump comes first," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., tweeted in response to the Post story. "So Trump is delaying the stimulus checks so his signature can be printed on each one. Him first. You second. Always."

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., echoed Murphy's sentiment.

"17 million people have lost their jobs. Millions can’t pay rent, afford food, and are sinking into debt. And the president is delaying relief for them so he can see his name on a check. Trump first, America second," she tweeted.

"You know that stimulus check you’re waiting for? Trump is holding it up so he can add his signature on the check. His narcissism is costing you," said Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., a member of the House Financial Services Committee, derided "unnecessarily postponing the disbursement of stimulus checks to feed the president’s ego or for political gain."

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said he would have resigned if President Bill Clinton had asked him to add his name to such disbursement checks.

"A Secretary of the @USTreasury who permits this is a dangerous sycophant. This is using government as a propaganda tool," Summers tweeted.

Walter Dillinger, a law professor emeritus at Duke University and former head of the Office of Legal Counsel under President https://www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/06/19/tax.letter.text/?mod=article_inlineClinton said Trump's "unnecessary, unwarranted, unprecedented" addition of his name was a misuse of "government resources for personal, political gain."

Want to talk more about politics?: Join our Facebook group: ‘Across the Aisle, Across the Nation.’

And Walter Shaub, a former director of the independent Office of Government Ethics, tweeted, "Where you see the dying and suffering of your fellow Americans, Donald Trump sees another opportunity to promote himself – and, by extension, his reelection campaign. Corruption, you see, has its visionaries."

Contributing: Michael Collins and Christal Hayes, USA TODAY; Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's name added to coronavirus $1,200 stimulus checks