The coronavirus economic relief checks are in the mail – or soon will be. Adding a free campaign ad for Donald Trump may delay their delivery a bit.

Some people who had 2019 income tax returns automatically deposited into their bank accounts earlier this year have already received the $1,200 deposits in similar fashion. But others must wait for a paper check in the mail. On Wednesday, IRS spokeswoman Jodie Reynolds reportedly told CNN, “Thanks to hard work and long hours by dedicated IRS employees, these payments are going out on schedule, as planned, without delay, to the nation.” But, The Washington Post reported that the Treasury Department has ordered President Trump’s name printed on the stimulus check and said this unprecedented action could slow the checks’ delivery by a few days. Although the Post story attributes the report of delayed checks to “senior IRS officials,” it goes on to say, “Treasury officials disputed that the checks would be delayed.”

While most people won’t care who signs their checks and whether they this month or a few days later, the president is not an authorized signer for legal disbursements by the U.S. Treasury. Standard operating procedure is to have such checks signed by a civil servant to ensure that government payments are nonpartisan.

It is important to remember that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act wasn’t a gift from Donald Trump or from one political party. It fact, it is taxpayers’ money.

More troubling is the Joint Commission on Taxation report, requested by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas). As reported in Forbes, “For those earning $1 million annually, a tax break buried in the recent coronavirus relief legislation is so generous that its total cost is more than total new funding for all hospitals in America and more than the total provided to all state and local governments,” said Doggett. “Someone wrongly seized on this health emergency to reward ultrarich beneficiaries, likely including the Trump family, with a tax loophole not available to middle class families.” The analysis shows 43,000 taxpayers in the highest income tax bracket, who earn more than $1 million annually, could save a combined $70 billion in taxes.

Who do you suppose will want to take credit for that?