US taxpayers will soon get stimulus checks with Donald Trump's name on them

The paper checks are scheduled to be issued at a rate of 5 million each week until September, starting with the lowest-income taxpayers

The US Treasury in an unprecedented decision on Monday ordered Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to print the stimulus checks with President Donald Trump's name on it, the Washington Post reported.

According to IRS officials quoted by the Washington Post, the process of printing Trump's name will slow their check delivery by a few days. Although, treasury officials disputed that the checks would be delayed.

The agency, which is scheduled to send checks to 70 million Americans, said when recipients open the $1,200 checks, "President Donald J Trump" will appear on the left side of the cheque.

A first for a president's name to appear on an IRS disbursement, the decision can be seen as another sign of Trump's effort to cast his response to the coronavirus pandemic in political terms as presidential election is scheduled to be held on November 3.

According to the media report, Trump had privately conveyed to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to allow him to formally sign the checks but the president is not an authorised signatory for legal disbursements.

The stimulus checks will bear Trump’s name in the memo line instead, the Washington Post quoted an administration official as saying.

The decision was announced on early Tuesday to the IRS’s information technology team, that is working from home, and now racing to implement a programming change, the report said. 

At least 5 million checks will be issued each week until September, starting with the lowest-income taxpayers.

On March 20, the Senate Republicans unveiled a $1 trillion economic stimulus plan to provide funds directly to businesses and the American public, as the number of coronavirus cases in the country surged past 13,000 then.

About 150 million Americans and others are expected to receive the one-time payment. The first wave of recipients includes mainly people who filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return and gave the IRS their direct deposit information.

Under this plan, single filers earning up to $75,000 a year receive a payment of $1,200. Married couples earning up to $150,000 a year receive a payment of $2,400. Parents receive an additional $500 for each child under 17.