FACT CHECK: Will The Latest Round Of Stimulus Checks Include Donald Trump’s Signature?
A viral Instagram post claims the latest round of COVID-19 stimulus checks being sent to Americans will include former President Donald Trump’s signature.
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Verdict: False
The stimulus checks will not include Trump’s signature, an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) spokesperson said. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a March 9 briefing that the checks would be signed by a “career official at the Bureau of Fiscal Service.”
Fact Check:
President Joe Biden on March 11 signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion relief package that includes sending $1,400 direct payments to many Americans. Many people will receive the payments as a direct deposit, while others will receive them in the form of a paper check or debit card, according to The Washington Post.
Some social media users are now claiming the paper stimulus checks will bear Trump’s signature. One screen-grabbed tweet that was posted on Instagram reads, “So Donald J. Trump’s signature is on the new stimulus checks… This is getting super weird now… The Biden administration excuse… ‘I just wanted to get the checks out.'”
Trump’s name was printed on the paper coronavirus relief checks sent out as part of the CARES Act signed into law in March 2020, NBC News reported. The names of former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush did not appear on stimulus checks during their presidencies, according to Reuters.
Check Your Fact didn’t find any evidence in media reports that Trump’s signature will be printed on the latest round of coronavirus stimulus checks, and neither the Treasury Department nor the IRS has stated such such a thing on its respective website. Karen Connelly, a spokesperson for the IRS, confirmed to Check Your Fact in a phone call that Trump’s signature will not be on the checks.
During a March 9 press briefing, Psaki, the White House press secretary, said Biden’s name would not be present on the memo line of the checks. (RELATED: No, Coronavirus Stimulus Payments Are Not Tied To The 2020 Census)
“We are doing everything in our power to expedite the payments and not delay them, which is why the President’s name will not appear on the memo line of this round of stimulus checks,” Psaki said, according to a White House transcript of the briefing. “The checks will be signed by a career official at the Bureau of Fiscal Service.”
The Treasury Department, IRS and Bureau of Fiscal Service announced Wednesday that they had “disbursed approximately 90 million Economic Impact Payments from the American Rescue Plan,” according to a press release.
