US coronavirus stimulus cheques to feature Trump signature

United States President Donald Trump’s signature will go on economic stimulus cheques the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is rushing to send to millions of people, according to US media reports.

The decision to put Trump’s signature on the memo line on the left side of the payment cheques of $1,200 a person is delaying delivery of the stimulus funds to 70 million people by several days, top IRS officials told the Washington Post.

An unprecedented and time-consuming move, it is the first time a president’s name will appear on any IRS payments to Americans, whether routine or one of the few times – as now – US Congress has authorised direct payments.

While his signature is not legally required or authorised by law, Trump had requested Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin to allow him to formally sign the cheques, the Post reported, citing three Trump administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The economic stimulus cheques were authorised in a $2.2 trillion economic rescue package approved by Congress at the end of March.

It is standard practice for a non-partisan civil servant to sign IRS disbursement cheques, in this case, an official with the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.

Payments have already been distributed electronically to about 80 million taxpayers who have linked their bank accounts to the IRS in the past for payments or refunds.

The IRS will mail printed cheques to those for whom it does not have banking information. Those checks will be distributed at a rate of five million a week through September.

Historically, the IRS avoids politics, but Trump’s name on printed cheques delivered to mailboxes gives him a tangible claim to helping people through the pandemic crisis.

Trump has received harsh criticism from opposition Democrats for his handling of the pandemic crisis, and on Wednesday, they took aim at this latest move as well.

“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 said in a statement.