Report: Trump Wants His Signature on Stimulus Checks

A copy of a check signed by President Donald Trump donating three months of his salary to the Department of Education.Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

The coronavirus is a rapidly developing news story, so some of the content in this article might be out of date. Check out our most recent coverage of the coronavirus crisis, and subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.

In a move that should surprise no one, President Donald Trump reportedly wants his signature on the checks that will be sent out to many Americans after Congress passed a $2 trillion stimulus bill with overwhelming bipartisan support.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday evening that Trump wants his name of the checks, citing an unnamed administration official. Normally, a civil servant would sign them. It’s a move that various commentators predicted in the days for the bill became law.

The money for the checks comes from Congress, not Trump. The Senate passed the stimulus bill 96-0 on Wednesday. In the House, the bill was set to easily pass by voice vote until Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) tried to force a recorded roll call vote. Massie’s (unsuccessful) stunt forced legislators to fly back to Washington in the middle of a pandemic.

Trump responded by tweeting that Massie is “a third rate Grandstander” who “just wants publicity.” In a rare moment of Twitter harmony, John Kerry agreed with the president. “Congressman Massie has tested positive for being an asshole,” Kerry tweeted in response to Trump. “He must be quarantined to prevent the spread of his massive stupidity.”

WE'LL BE BLUNT:

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate