WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s name will not appear on the memo line of stimulus checks that will be issued to most Americans following passage of his coronavirus aid bill, the White House said on Tuesday.
Then-President Donald Trump had asked that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) put his name on the first round of stimulus checks issued during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said doing so was not a priority for Biden.
“The president will not appear on the line of the check,” she told reporters. “It will be signed by the career official. This is not about him. This is about the American people getting relief.”
Biden is expected to sign the $1.9 trillion aid bill as soon as this week after the House of Representatives takes up the bill on Wednesday. The chamber, which is controlled by Biden’s fellow Democrats, is expected to approve the bill along party lines.
Psaki said they are working to get $1,400 payments to most Americans included in the bill out as soon as possible. The first payments will go out this month to people who have direct deposit set up with the IRS, she said.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chris Reese and Jonathan Oatis)
