President Donald Trump says he does not believe Congress would have to approve his plan to send $5,000 to every adult American after the midterm elections, an idea he unveiled at the first Republican midterm convention in Dallas.
Asked directly about the payments in an interview with CBS News Texas, Trump said: "We think not." He added that lawmakers would support the idea if approval were needed, pointing to tariff revenue.
A trillion-dollar promise
The proposal, which Trump calls a dividend, would apply to adult citizens if Republicans keep control of the House and Senate. Cost estimates run above a trillion dollars. NBC News reported that legal experts, economists and even Trump's fellow Republicans see a long list of obstacles, from the absence of clear legal authority to the arithmetic of getting such a bill through Congress.
Broad payments are not new. Congress approved direct checks during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Trump floated a $2,000 dividend funded by tariffs in 2025, and this year Congress approved child investment accounts. Payments for service members were also rolled out.
Candidates keep their distance
The idea came from Trump himself, according to a person close to him, who said it was his decision to put it in the convention speech. That speech also included a defense of the war with Iran and an endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the state's Senate race.
Even so, some Republican officials in battleground districts said flatly that their candidates will not campaign on the dividend. The promise lands at a moment when many households are dealing with higher energy costs tied to the Middle East conflict.
What happens next
No bill has been introduced, and no agency has published a mechanism for the payments. For now the plan remains a campaign pledge rather than a program, and its path depends on the outcome in November.