‘Shameless’: Donald Trump slammed for putting name on coronavirus relief cheques
- US Treasury denies report that unprecedented move will delay delivery of payments
- Neither Barack Obama nor George W. Bush put their names on stimulus checks that were mailed to Americans
US President Donald Trump’s name will appear on the coronavirus relief paper cheques the US Treasury will send to millions of Americans, a Treasury official confirmed on Wednesday, in an unprecedented move finalised this week.
The apparent bid to gain re-election mileage from the US$1,200 “Economic Impact Payments” drew swift condemnation from top Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who slammed the “shameful” move.
The Washington Post had reported on Tuesday that the move could mean that needy Americans could find their funds delayed by a few days, though the Treasury later denied this, saying the change would not affect the timely mailing of the cheques beginning next week.
Though some of the payments are being made with paper cheques, most are expected to be made electronically by direct deposit to recipients’ bank accounts.
The funds are being issued under the US$2.2 trillion CARES Act recently passed by Congress in response to the heavy economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, and are aimed to help Americans earning less than US$75,000 a year.