Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday it was his idea to put President Trump’s names on the stimulus checks going out to many Americans as part of the coronavirus-relief package.
“We did put the president’s name on the check. That was my idea,” Mr. Mnuchin told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “He is the president, and I think it’s a terrific symbol to the American public.”
Democrats have faulted the placement of Mr. Trump’s name in the memo section of the checks, saying it is an unusual move in a campaign year and might have delayed processing of much-needed funds.
The administration has said placing Mr. Trump’s name on the checks didn’t hold things up.
The reason people haven’t seen physical checks is because they want more people to log onto IRS.gov and arrange for direct deposits, according to the secretary.
“It’s much safer to send out direct deposits,” Mr. Mnuchin said. “As it relates to the president’s name on it … the president could have been authorized to sign the checks. That would have slowed things down. We didn’t want to do that.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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