Key facts
- President Donald Trump proposed sending $5,000 "dividend" checks to every adult American if Republicans win control of Congress in the November midterm elections.
- The proposal, if approved by Congress, would cost an estimated $1.2 trillion, plus hundreds of billions more in interest.
- Some Republicans warned the cash injection could accelerate inflation and worsen fiscal stability.
- U.S. Representative David Schweikert said the plan would do more damage than help working people and continue to raise interest rates.
- Several Republicans quickly backed the proposal, with U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno preparing legislation to formalize the "Trump dividend."
- Trump has previously promised other "dividends," none of which have come to fruition.
President Donald Trump proposed on Wednesday a $5,000 "Trump dividend" payment to all adult U.S. citizens if Republicans retain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the November 3 midterm elections. The pledge, which would cost an estimated $1.2 trillion, has raised questions about its legality and funding.
Trump told voters at the Republicans' midterm convention in Dallas that he would issue the stimulus checks to celebrate "our tremendous strength and success economically." Some Republicans warned the massive cash injection into an economy already running hot could accelerate inflation at a time when voters are concerned about high living costs. U.S. Representative David Schweikert, an Arizona Republican set to leave Congress at the end of his term, told Reuters he would "personally throw everything of my heart and soul to stop it, because it would actually do more damage to working people than would ever help them." He added that it would "continue to raise interest rates" and bring the "interest rate death spiral sooner to the United States."
Several Republicans quickly backed the proposal, however, as they look for ways to energize voters in the campaign's final stretch. U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, wrote on social media that he was preparing legislation to formalize the "Trump dividend" after the November 3 election.
The debate is unfolding against the backdrop of a fiscal reckoning decades in the making. Economists across the political spectrum warn that Washington's heavy borrowing has put the country on an unsustainable financial trajectory. Trump has promised other "dividends" before, including payments from tariff revenue and his cost-cutting U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, none of which have come to fruition. He issued payments to military service members in December 2025, calling them a "warrior dividend," but the $1,776 payments were repurposed funds from military housing stipends and not a Christmas bonus as Trump had described them.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement that "the doomers and naysayers have consistently doubted President Trump" and Trump has proven them wrong. "With the continued support of the American people, President Trump will keep delivering real results," Ingle said.
Trump told voters on Wednesday to cast the midterms as a referendum on his presidency, instructing them to "pretend that I'm on the ballot." But voters have soured on Trump's agenda, recent Reuters/Ipsos polls show. Trump's approval rating stands at 33%. Most Americans oppose his new tariffs on Canadian goods, and voters favor Democrats' approach to cost-of-living issues over Republicans' by an eight-percentage-point margin. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said it was unclear whether the checks could garner the 60 votes needed to defeat a Senate filibuster but that he thought Republicans could keep control of both chambers as they consider additional tax cuts. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he told Fox News. "He wants more money in the pockets of the American people. The Democrats want to grow government in Washington, D.C.," Thune said. "Obviously, we're going to be looking at every opportunity we can to allow the American people to keep more of what they earn."