Quick answer: Internal Treasury emails obtained by ABC News show it was then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s idea to put “President Donald J. Trump” on the memo line of the 2020 stimulus checks, finalized in a scramble just days before payments went out. Draft versions that never made it to the final design also included Mnuchin’s own name alongside the president’s.
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Background: The 2020 Economic Impact Payments
In the spring of 2020, as the country shut down amid the early COVID-19 outbreak, Congress passed the CARES Act, which authorized the first round of direct payments to individuals — commonly called “stimulus checks” or, in IRS terminology, Economic Impact Payments. Eligible adults generally received up to $1,200, with an additional amount per qualifying child. Most payments went out by direct deposit for people who had bank information on file with the IRS, but a large share of recipients — eventually about 35 million people — received a physical paper check from the U.S. Treasury instead.
Questions arose almost immediately about whether President Trump would want his name attached to the checks, given his long history of putting his name on buildings, hotels, and other branded projects. At the time, the idea seemed plausible enough that it triggered sharp criticism from Democrats in Congress before the checks even arrived in mailboxes. As president, Trump’s black-marker signature had already become one of the most recognizable and outsized in modern presidential history, which only added to the speculation.
How Trump’s Name Got Onto the Memo Line
Internal Treasury emails, obtained by ABC News through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and released years after the fact, now confirm what happened: “President Donald J. Trump” appeared below the words “Economic Impact Payment” on the memo line of the final check design.
The emails show that a senior Treasury official, David Lebryk, requested a new mock-up just days before the payments were due to go out. On April 9, 2020, another Treasury official thanked colleagues “for turning this around so quickly” while they discussed font size for the memo line.
Late the next day, Lebryk emailed then-IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to say Treasury had settled on final language: “We got word from the Secretary that he would like the memo line on Economic Impact Payments to read consistent with the attached image,” Lebryk wrote. Rettig asked for formal confirmation before proceeding. Two days later, on April 13, Rettig again pressed for confirmation that Mnuchin himself was instructing the IRS to include Trump’s name. Mnuchin’s deputy chief of staff, Baylor Myers, replied late that night with a single word: “Yes.” The following day, Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service updated the mock-up to reflect the change.
Draft Versions That Didn’t Make the Cut
The images Treasury released to ABC News — for the first time publicly — also show discarded drafts. Some early mock-ups included Mnuchin’s own name printed alongside Trump’s on the memo line. That version was ultimately dropped; only the president’s name made it to the checks that were mailed out.
It remains unclear from the released emails exactly whose idea it originally was to add Trump’s name in the first place — many portions of the internal exchanges were redacted, including some names of senders and recipients.
Reaction and Controversy at the Time
The plan drew immediate pushback. Critics accused Trump — who built much of his business career on branding properties with his own name — of trying to claim credit for a relief program that struggled Americans desperately needed during an economic crisis.
Adding to the controversy, The Washington Post reported on the night of April 14, 2020, citing unnamed officials, that including Trump’s name would likely delay the checks. The story quickly circulated inside Treasury, with Mnuchin forwarding it to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. The IRS moved fast to deny any delay, and direct deposit payments began hitting bank accounts the very next day, April 15, with the paper checks bearing Trump’s name following later that month.
Rettig, in a separate email to Treasury officials, confirmed the Post’s reporting that he and other IRS officials had been “unaware” of the decision to include Trump’s name until later in the process.
Trump himself was publicly noncommittal about the details. Asked at an April 3, 2020 news conference whether he wanted to personally sign the checks, he said, “No. Me sign? No… It’s a Trump administration initiative. But do I want to sign them? No.” By April 15, he said he didn’t “know too much about” the decision, adding: “I don’t know where they’re going, how they’re going. I do understand it’s not delaying anything… I’m sure people will be very happy to get a big, fat, beautiful check and my name is on it.”
It was Mnuchin who eventually claimed credit publicly. In an April 19, 2020 interview with CNN, he said: “We did put the president’s name on the check. That was my idea. He is the president, and I think it’s a terrific symbol to the American public.”
What the Redacted Emails Still Hide
Even with the FOIA release, the full picture isn’t complete. The Treasury Department withheld certain emails between top officials discussing what would ultimately appear in the memo line, and dozens of portions of the documents that were released are blacked out — including, in some cases, the names of the people sending and receiving the messages. As a result, the unredacted material doesn’t definitively establish whose idea it was to add Trump’s name in the first place, even though Mnuchin later took public credit for it. ABC News has noted the redactions leave open questions about exactly how the decision moved up the chain before Lebryk’s April 9-10 emails.
What Changed When Biden Sent Stimulus Checks
The following spring, when President Joe Biden’s administration sent out its own round of stimulus payments, his name did not appear on the checks themselves — a departure from the precedent Trump set the year before. Like Trump, however, Biden did sign a letter mailed separately to recipients notifying them of the payment, continuing the practice of a presidential letter accompanying — but not printed on — the check itself.
The contrast between the two rounds became part of the broader debate over how much political credit-taking is appropriate around emergency relief programs, a debate that predates either administration but was sharpened considerably by the 2020 episode.
FAQ
Was it normal for a president’s name to appear on a Treasury check?
No — experts described it as unprecedented for a sitting president’s name to appear on the memo line of an IRS-issued payment. Typically, a civil servant’s signature, not the president’s name, appears on government checks.
Did adding Trump’s name actually delay the payments?
The IRS denied any delay at the time, and direct deposit payments began on schedule on April 15, 2020. The paper checks with Trump’s name went out later that month.
How did ABC News get these emails?
ABC News obtained them through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Treasury Department, represented by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Treasury provided some emails just five days before Trump left office in January 2021, and released the draft check images only more recently.
Did Trump ever say he wanted to personally sign the checks?
He was asked directly and denied it, though the Post reported — citing unnamed officials — that he had privately suggested to Mnuchin that he wanted to sign them himself.
Was Mnuchin’s name supposed to be on the checks too?
Draft mock-ups obtained by ABC News show at least one version with Mnuchin’s name alongside Trump’s, but that design was dropped before the checks were finalized — only “President Donald J. Trump” appeared on the version that was actually printed and mailed.
Why did it take years for these emails to become public?
ABC News sued the Treasury Department under the Freedom of Information Act to compel release of the records. The department handed over some key emails just five days before Trump left office in January 2021, but held onto the draft check images themselves until a more recent release — meaning the full picture only came into focus years after the checks were mailed.