The Washington Post published a story on Tuesday evening claiming the stimulus checks going out to the vast majority of Americans as a result of the coronavirus crisis are being held up due to the fact President Donald Trump’s name is being affixed to them.
The opening sentence of the article from Lisa Rein claims that adding Trump’s name to the checks to tens of millions of Americans is “a process that could slow their delivery by a few days.”
The article also includes a section quoting some career officials claiming this will lead to a delay:
The team, working from home, is now racing to implement a programming change that two senior IRS officials said will probably lead to a delay in issuing the first batch of paper checks. They are scheduled to be sent Thursday to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service for printing and issuing.
Computer code must be changed to include the president’s name, and the system must be tested, these officials said. “Any last-minute request like this will create a downstream snarl that will result in a delay,” said Chad Hooper, a quality-control manager who serves as national president of the IRS’s Professional Managers Association.
But the idea there will be some kind of a delay is not true. Buried deeper within the piece is confirmation that the checks will not be delayed.
A Treasury Department spokeswoman, however, denied any delay and said the plan all along was to issue the checks next week.
“Economic Impact Payment checks are scheduled to go out on time and exactly as planned — there is absolutely no delay whatsoever,” the spokeswoman said in a written statement. She said this was a faster process than the stimulus checks the George W. Bush administration issued in 2008 to head off a looming recession.
“In fact, we expect the first checks to be in the mail early next week which is well in advance of when the first checks went out in 2008 and well in advance of initial estimates,” the statement said.
Multiple Treasury Department officials confirmed to Breitbart News that the claims of a delay are inaccurate. One Treasury Department official confirmed that President Trump’s name will appear on the paper checks, adding there will be no delay to make that happen.
Monica Crowley, the Treasury Department spokeswoman, also tweeted this response to the “inaccurate and misleading” Washington Post story on Wednesday:
Treasury spokesperson response to last night’s inaccurate and misleading Washington Post story: pic.twitter.com/5K7SNa6PFC
— Monica Crowley (@TreasurySpox) April 15, 2020
Most Americans are getting these cash payments directly deposited into their bank accounts, if they have gotten a tax return in recent years and the IRS has their direct deposit information on file. Some Americans, however, need a paper check to be mailed to them–and the Treasury Department says these checks are going out ahead of schedule even with the addition of President Trump’s name on them.
Despite the claims from the Washington Post piece collapsing under scrutiny, many on the left and throughout the media and entertainment establishment have used this story to further attack President Trump:
If the check you’re waiting for is delayed, you can thank this man. He cared more about getting his name on the check than about your need for it. He’s worse than contemptible. https://t.co/O76gnmxgrj
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) April 15, 2020
EXCLUSIVE: In an unprecedented move, the Trump administration orders the president’s name to be printed on millions of Americans’ stimulus checks — which will delay their arrival. By @Reinlwapohttps://t.co/HApaTx0pkr
— Cathleen Decker (@cathleendecker) April 15, 2020
If he's going to put his name on stimulus checks, then his name also belongs on every death certificate that resulted from his 70-day delay in taking action. https://t.co/iX07X0cByT
— Chris Lu (@ChrisLu44) April 15, 2020
A delay of even 1 day in stimulus checks is too much, but especially just to flatter 45's vanity & give him political advantage. Hold him accountable. #Vote4Biden https://t.co/FCVk56rfZ2
— Jill Wine-Banks (@JillWineBanks) April 15, 2020
“The addition of his signature is expected to delay the delivery of the paper checks by several days.” https://t.co/nd2d6q6EkL
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) April 15, 2020
The Treasury Department must reveal if the Trump Administration is delaying Americans’ stimulus checks in order to unnecessarily print the President's name on them. As millions of families are struggling to get by, any unnecessary delay is unacceptable. https://t.co/iioFBOYLqO pic.twitter.com/24UGQMJRPf
— Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (@CongressmanRaja) April 15, 2020
Donald Trump ordered that his name be printed on the $1,200 stimulus checks — an unprecedented and selfish move that will delay arrival of the checks by several days. https://t.co/tY52KyUuvb
— Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 (@joncoopertweets) April 15, 2020
.@Acosta confirms that Trump's name will be added to stimulus checks sent to Americans. A senior administration official says adding Trump's name won't cause any delays. w/@caroline_mkelly https://t.co/Gv06BKySAh
— Kyle "Please Mute Your Line" Feldscher (@Kyle_Feldscher) April 15, 2020
He is delaying printed checks so they can update computer code to include his name in the memo line. True story.
Donald J. Trump's name will be on stimulus checks in unprecedented move https://t.co/wxsuMaOcNz
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) April 15, 2020
A source familiar with the matter added to Breitbart News the political attacks on the president and inaccurate claims of a delay in checks going out for this purpose are par for the course for those who hate President Trump.
“This is just another attempt by the entrenched, anti-Trump bureaucracy to craft a false narrative about the president’s ego when in fact millions of Americans are already seeing their economic impact payments hit their bank accounts,” the source familiar with the process said. “The Washington Post is the propaganda arm of the out of touch, rabid, far left and should be lambasted for sowing discord as our nation attempts to navigate this challenging economic climate. Shameful.”
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