WASHINGTON – Last week, President Donald Trump’s critics decried an unprecedented move to add his name to the $1,200 relief checks sent to taxpayers as part of the more than $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package.
The Washington Post, which first reported the story, said Trump asked Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to add his signature to the checks. Sunday, Mnuchin said it was his idea to include the president’s name.
“We did put the president’s name on the check,” Mnuchin told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “That was my idea. He is the president, and I think it’s a terrific symbol to the American public.”
Trump’s printed name is on the memo line on the left side of the check because he is not authorized to sign Treasury Department checks. Normally, an official from the department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service signs the checks.
Nina Olson, the founder of the Center for Taxpayer Rights and former taxpayer advocate for the IRS, told USA TODAY the president does not normally sign government checks “to protect against the perception of political patronage.”
Mnuchin told CNN, “The president could have been authorized to sign the checks,” but “that would have slowed things down. We didn’t want that.”
Unprecedented:Trump’s name to be printed on $1,200 coronavirus stimulus checks going out to Americans
The $2 trillion rescue package aims to buoy the U.S. economy during the coronavirus pandemic, which caused most of the country to shut down to slow the spread.
The Post reported that the addition of Trump’s name slowed the checks going out, but a Treasury Department spokeswoman said in a statement, “There is absolutely no delay whatsoever.”
Mnuchin has said the checks would go out Monday, but he did not repeat that expectation Sunday.
Millions of Americans who have their bank account information on file with the IRS have already received the funds electronically, which Mnuchin called a “much safer” way of distributing money. The direct deposits do not include any mention of Trump.
Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said including the president’s name on the checks was “another shameful example of President Trump’s catastrophic failure to treat this crisis with the urgency it demands.”
During a White House news conference Wednesday, Trump said he “didn’t know too much about” his name being added to the checks.
“I do understand it’s not delaying anything, and I’m satisfied with that. I don’t imagine it’s a big deal,” he said, “I’m sure people will be very happy to get a big, fat, beautiful check, and my name is on it.”
Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/19/mnuchin-idea-add-trump-name-coronavirus-rescue-checks/5161835002/
Comments