In April 2020, as millions of Americans awaited economic relief amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a quiet but intense debate took place within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over an unprecedented move: placing then-President Donald Trump's name on the stimulus checks. Recently obtained documents have shed light on the concerns of IRS officials, who feared that including Trump's name on the checks could politicize the agency and potentially violate federal law.
The stimulus checks, known as Economic Impact Payments, were a key component of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed by Congress in March 2020. For the first time in U.S. history, the president's name was to appear on checks issued by the Treasury Department, an order that came directly from the Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin. While Trump saw this as a gesture that underscored his administration's efforts to support Americans during the crisis, critics saw it as a blatant political maneuver designed to boost his reelection prospects.
Emails obtained by Bloomberg through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveal that the IRS sought legal guidance regarding the decision to include Trump's name on the checks. Several top IRS officials expressed concerns that the move could violate the Hatch Act, which restricts the political activities of federal employees. The emails show IRS officials struggling with how to comply with the directive while maintaining the agency's impartiality.
"Did Counsel push back on this? Did anyone raise the concern about how this makes the IRS appear?" an IRS official wrote in an April 9, 2020, email to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig and other senior agency officials. The inclusion of Trump's name on the checks was seen by some as a potential violation of ethical standards that prohibit federal resources from being used for political gain.
Another email from Kenneth Corbin, the Wage & Investment commissioner at the IRS, highlighted the importance of seeking an official stance from ethics officers. "The one thing I want to document and get for us on the IRS side is a position from ethics officials that the IRS is not violating the Hatch Act," Corbin wrote to Deputy Commissioner Sunita Lough on April 11, 2020. "I imagine we want this cover for all parties at the IRS."
The IRS's legal counsel ultimately determined that there was "no clear legal prohibition" against including Trump's name on the checks, and the letter that accompanied the payments was also deemed legally sound. However, the emails depict a sense of unease among IRS officials, who were concerned that the move would politicize an agency that prides itself on impartiality.
Despite the legal approval, the decision to include Trump's name led to logistical challenges that threatened to delay the disbursement of the stimulus checks. The IRS had to scramble to accommodate last-minute changes, such as formatting Trump's name on the checks and determining whether the accompanying letter should bear White House letterhead or other "patriotic branding." There were also deliberations over whether to translate "White House" to "La Casa Blanca" in a Spanish-language version of the letter.
The Washington Post first reported on the plan to add Trump's name to the checks, which triggered public criticism and complaints to the IRS. "For your awareness, people are now calling to complain about the checks being held back because the president wants his name on them," an IRS official wrote in an email following the initial report.
The move to include Trump's name on the stimulus checks drew sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who accused the Trump administration of using pandemic relief funds for political gain. At the time, many Democrats argued that the decision was a transparent attempt by Trump to gain favor with voters ahead of the November 2020 election. Trump's critics viewed the branding of the checks as a way for the president to ensure that recipients associated the financial relief with his leadership during a period of crisis.
"You hear it from a lot of people because that's what Trump is running on, with people thinking that he was the one that got them those checks," said Dr. La'Toshia Patman, a volunteer for a community organization in Detroit, to the Washington Examiner. The checks, bearing Trump's name, became a memorable symbol for many voters who felt personally supported by the president during an uncertain time.
Despite the controversy, the checks were ultimately mailed on time, providing much-needed relief to millions of Americans. The decision to place Trump's name on the checks set a precedent that could have implications for future stimulus efforts, as it marked the first time a sitting president's name appeared on payments issued by the IRS.
