President Donald Trump’s signature will appear on the $1,200 checks being mailed to low- and middle-income households in the coming weeks, according to two officials familiar with the decision.
Typically, a civil servant’s signature — the disbursing officer for the payment center — would appear on regular government benefit checks or one-time economic stimulus payments.
At a press briefing on April 3, Trump denied wanting to have his name appear on the mailed payments.
“Do I want to sign them? No,” he said, but called the plan to send more than $292 million to American households a “Trump administration initiative.”
The addition of the president’s signature won’t delay the payments, a Treasury spokeswoman said. The Internal Revenue Service plans to mail the first wave of checks next week, according to the spokeswoman.
The IRS can send about five million paper checks a week, so the process could take months to complete.
The IRS has said it sent about 80 million payments this week via direct deposit, where Trump’s signature does not appear. In total, the agency anticipates it will send about 150 to 170 million payments through bank account transfer or via a mailed check.
The $2.2 trillion stimulus package signed into law last month allocates $1,200 to every adult earning as much as $75,000 and $500 for each of their children. The payments phase out for individuals earning up to $99,000.
The Washington Post reported earlier Tuesday about the checks going out with Trump’s signature.
Asked about the Post report on MSNBC on Tuesday night, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “It seems almost every day the president thinks this crisis revolves around him and his desires, his needs, his enemies.”
The House Ways and Means Committee was not consulted about the addition of Trump’s signature, and does not want the checks to be delayed for a second to add it, said Erin Hatch, a spokeswoman for the panel.
–With assistance from Laura Litvan.
