“Donald J. Trump’s signature is on the new stimulus checks.”
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In this March 27, 2020 file photo, President Donald Trump signs the coronavirus stimulus relief package in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
No, Trump’s signature won’t be on the new stimulus checks; Biden’s won’t, either
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The Biden White House and the Treasury Department said the checks will be signed by a Treasury official.
If you’re eligible for a federal stimulus payment, and you’re not set up to receive it via direct deposit, you’ll be paid by check.
A widely shared post on Instagram claims the check will have been signed by Donald J. Trump — who hasn’t been president for nearly two months.
"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,’" the post says.
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
It’s wrong.
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Trump’s name was printed on the memo line of the $1,200 checks sent in April 2020 as part of a $2.2 trillion stimulus plan in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
That was the first time a president’s name ever appeared on checks from the Internal Revenue Service, which are formally signed by a Treasury Department official to ensure government payments are nonpartisan, and because a president is not an authorized signer for money sent by the U.S. Treasury.
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On March 9, two days before President Joe Biden signed the new $1.9 trillion stimulus plan into law, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden’s name would not appear on the $1,400 stimulus checks in that plan.
"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, when asked by a reporter if Biden wanted his name on the checks.
The Treasury Department confirmed to us that neither Trump nor Biden’s name or signature will appear on the checks, but wouldn’t tell us the name and title of the official who will sign them, saying only it would be a "career official from the Bureau of Fiscal Service."
We rate the post False.
Our Sources
Instagram, post, March 13, 2021
Rev.com, "Press Secretary Jen Psaki White House Press Conference Transcript March 9," March 9, 2021
Reuters, "Fact Check-Trump’s signature will not appear on new stimulus checks," March 16, 2021
Email, Treasury Department spokesperson Alexandra LaManna, March 16, 2021
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No, Trump’s signature won’t be on the new stimulus checks; Biden’s won’t, either
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