President Donald Trump wants to send $2,000 checks to some Americans. He can’t do it on his own.
He needs Congress to sign off on it.
To actually get checks into mailboxes, both the House and the Senate would need to sign off on the plan. Since Congress controls the power of the purse, the president can’t spend money that hasn’t been approved by the legislature.
Getting anything through Congress is difficult these days, even when the party in power is largely on the same page. Just look at how long it took the GOP to pass the “Big Beautiful Bill” earlier this year.
Stimulus checks, in particular, would be even more difficult: Several Republicans have already said they’re opposed to the idea.
“It’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard,” Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky told BI over the summer.
“I would oppose it,” Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin told BI.
“It’ll never pass,” Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio told reporters months ago. “We have a $37 trillion debt.”
Across the board, Republicans have said that they would prefer to see any revenue raised by tariffs be used to pay down the national debt.
Even if Congress did approve tariff checks, there are other issues.
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The Supreme Court may strike down many of Trump’s tariffs, cutting off the revenue that would fund the checks. And sending $2,000 to some Americans could end up driving up inflation in the long run.
“President Trump’s tariffs are resetting global commerce, securing manufacturing investments, and safeguarding our national and economic security — and they’re also raising billions in revenue for the federal government,” a White House official told BI in response to questions about the tariff plan. “The Administration is committed to putting this money to good use for the American people.”
Here’s what would have to happen to get tariff checks out the door
The government has sent out checks to Americans before: It happened three times during the COVID-19 pandemic under both Trump and President Joe Biden.
Each time, Congress signed off on it, either via a government funding bill or an economic stimulus bill like the CARES Act or the American Rescue Plan.
Trump’s proposal is relatively light on details. He has said that it will go to “low and middle income” Americans, but hasn’t laid out particular brackets. He has also said that there will still be significant revenue left over for paying down the debt.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri has introduced a version of Trump’s proposal, which would provide at least $600 to Americans making less than a certain income amount per year.
That amount would begin phasing out for individuals making more than $75,000, joint filers making more than $150,000, and household head making more than $112,500.
