President Donald Trump has promised to send $5,000 checks to American adults if Republicans retain control of both the U.S. House and Senate after the midterm elections.
Speaking at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas, Trump said the payment would be called the “Trump dividend” and argued that the country’s strong economic performance would make the plan possible.
Trump compared the proposal to companies distributing profits to shareholders. Vice President JD Vance later said some of the funding could come from tariff revenue.
However, the plan would be extremely expensive. With roughly 245 million adult U.S. citizens, sending $5,000 to each person could cost around $1.2 trillion. Economists have questioned whether tariff revenue would come close to covering that amount.
The proposal would also require approval from Congress before any checks could be issued. Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno said he plans to introduce legislation supporting the payments after the November 3 election.
Trump has made similar promises before. Previous proposals for $2,000 tariff dividend checks and $5,000 “DOGE dividend” payments were never implemented.
Despite questions about the cost and feasibility of the plan, Trump framed the proposed $5,000 payment as a direct financial benefit Americans would receive if Republicans win the midterms.