WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to give every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the November midterm elections, a proposal that could cost more than $1 trillion and would require congressional approval.
Trump announced the proposal Wednesday while addressing the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Dallas, describing the payment as a “Trump Dividend.
“If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000,” Trump said, arguing that the payment would reflect what he described as the country’s economic strength and success under his administration.
Trump compared the proposed payments to dividends distributed by companies to their shareholders.
However, the proposal has immediately raised questions about its financial feasibility and legal authority. The United States is already running an annual budget deficit approaching $2 trillion, while the national debt surpassed $40 trillion last month.
Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said Trump does not have the authority to distribute such payments without congressional approval.
He also questioned the logic of describing the payments as a dividend, noting that dividends are generally paid when companies have surplus funds.
“The idea that we’ve had fiscal success is backwards and bordering on laughable,” Goldwein said. “We don’t have surpluses to give away.”
Vance suggests payments could target lower and middle income Americans
Vice President JD Vance appeared to partially qualify Trump’s announcement shortly afterward, suggesting that wealthy Americans would not benefit from the proposed dividend.
Vance also indicated that tariff revenues could potentially be used to finance the payments. However, the proposed $5,000 payment would be far greater than the revenue the United States has generated through tariffs.
The White House has not yet provided detailed information on how the program would work or how it would be financed.
Trump has previously discussed the possibility of sending Americans direct payments. Earlier this year, he proposed a $2,000 dividend and suggested that congressional approval might not be necessary.
The latest proposal, however, is the first time Trump has directly linked such a payment to his party’s performance in a national election.
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio quickly backed the proposal, saying he would work on legislation to establish the dividend after the November 3 election.
“I will get a bill ready so that we can get the Trump Dividend passed immediately after the November 3rd election,” Moreno wrote on X.
Republicans face difficult midterm elections
Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with the historical tendency of the president’s party to lose congressional seats during midterm elections.
“We’re going to change that,” Trump told Republicans in Dallas. “There’s no reason for it.”
Republicans are currently defending a narrow majority in the House amid political challenges, including concerns over Trump’s popularity and widespread opposition to the U.S. war in Iran.
The Senate, which Republicans had previously been considered relatively well-positioned to retain, is also expected to be closely contested.
A $5,000 payment would be larger than the direct federal payments many Americans received through COVID-19 relief programs during Trump’s first term.
Legal experts have also questioned whether connecting the announcement to an election would amount to an improper attempt to influence voters. However, attorney John Day of New Mexico said the proposal could be legal because the payment, if implemented, would be available to Americans regardless of whether they voted or which candidate they supported.
“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.”
For now, the proposal remains a political pledge rather than an approved government program, with its implementation dependent on congressional action and a viable plan for funding the payments.
