A “warrior dividend” bonus check that President Trump announced on Wednesday would go to more than 1.4 million active-duty service members by the end of the year is being funded by money Congress allocated earlier this year for military housing stipends, officials said on Thursday.
The $1,776 payments, which will cost about $2.6 billion, will arrive before Christmas, Mr. Trump said.
“The checks are already on the way,” Mr. Trump said in his address from the White House. “We made a lot more money than anybody thought because of tariffs.”
The president also said his signature domestic policy law “helped us along.”
In fact, the bonus checks are being financed through the law, which added $2.9 billion to the Pentagon’s coffers for military housing allowances, administration officials said.
The dividends will be a one-time disbursement to service members below the rank of admiral or general as part of the military’s monthly housing-allowance allocation, they said.
The announcement appeared to be the administration’s latest attempt to dangle cash payments to buoy voters’ views of the economy, amid concerns about the rising cost of living in America. In recent months, as inflation soared, Mr. Trump repeatedly suggested the possibility of sending cash stimulus checks to millions of Americans.
The payment for active service members — $1,776 — was intended to honor the year of the United States’ founding, Mr. Trump said.
In Mr. Trump’s first term, his administration sent out two rounds of cash stimulus checks to many American households, part of an effort to stabilize the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Luke Broadwater and Tony Romm contributed reporting from Washington.
John Ismay is a reporter covering the Pentagon for The Times. He served as an explosive ordnance disposal officer in the U.S. Navy.
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