Speaking Wednesday at the Republican Party's first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, President Donald Trump promised every American adult a $5,000 payment if Republicans retain control of both the House and Senate, as reported by The Associated Press.
The extraordinary proposal could cost more than $1 trillion and would likely require congressional approval. "If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000," Trump said. "It will be called the Trump Dividend."
Trump compared the proposed payments to corporate dividends paid to shareholders, citing "our tremendous strength and success economically."
The proposal immediately raised questions about how it would be funded, whether it would be legal and whether it would worsen inflation and the federal deficit, which is approaching $2 trillion annually. The national debt surpassed $40 trillion last month.
Vice President JD Vance appeared to qualify the proposal shortly afterward, suggesting wealthy Americans would not receive the payments and that tariff revenues could help fund them. But the proposed checks would far exceed the revenue generated by tariffs.
The White House did not immediately provide details, as per The Associated Press report.
Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said Trump does not have the authority to send Americans money without congressional approval. He also rejected the idea that the government is in a position to distribute a dividend. "The idea that we've had fiscal success is backwards and bordering on laughable," he said. "We don't have surpluses to give away."
Trump has floated similar proposals before. Earlier this year, he suggested a $2,000 dividend and said he did not believe Congress would need to approve it. Last year, he gave members of the military $1,776 checks that he called a "warrior dividend."
Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio quickly embraced the latest proposal, writing on X: "I will get a bill ready so that we can get the Trump Dividend passed immediately after the November 3rd election," he wrote. "Because Republicans (and America) will win!"
New Mexico attorney John Day said the proposal could be legal because the payment would go to Americans regardless of how they voted. "This is a campaign promise," Day said. "It's not a payment to individuals to try to get them to vote in a particular way."
Trump's Dividend promise comes as Republicans face a difficult midterm campaign. The US president remains deeply unpopular, voters are concerned about the economy and the war in Iran, and Democrats are mounting a strong challenge for control of Congress.
Trump has repeatedly complained that presidents typically lose congressional seats in midterm elections. "We're going to change that," he said. "There's no reason for it."
