President Donald Trump this week promised Americans two separate rounds of government checks — neither approved by Congress — and both drawing open scorn from his party.
Trump drew instant contempt from Republicans this week when he claimed the government would send $5,000 to every adult citizen should the GOP maintain control of the House and the Senate in November, according to a new report.
“When I saw it, I just laughed,” one anonymous House Republican told MS NOW. “Like, this isn’t even serious anymore.”
The White House quickly branded the check the “Trump Dividend” and made the political strings explicit in an official release, stating plainly that Democratic control would mean Americans lose out.
Trump then announced a second payment on video: $500 rebate checks for roughly a million Americans to offset what he called Obamacare-related cost spikes.
But the House Republican who spoke to MS NOW predicts the $5,000 promise has no realistic path through Congress and warned it could backfire politically given how central affordability has become to voters this cycle.
A second House Republican was equally skeptical, suggesting anyone actually banking on the payment would be waiting indefinitely, much like those who took Trump’s earlier tariff rebate promise at face value and never saw a dime.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly wasn’t briefed before the announcement. Reactions split along familiar lines: Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno rushed to promise legislation to pass the checks after the midterms, while South Carolina’s Darline Graham gave it a simple thumbs-up. Maine Sen. Susan Collins pushed back hard, arguing that spending decisions ought to be driven by economic need rather than political timing.
Despite Trump’s suggestions to the contrary, legal experts say Trump can’t simply issue the payments unilaterally. Brennan Center attorney Daniel Weiner noted any such benefit has to be funded through money Congress actually appropriates and authorizes.
Sending $5,000 to roughly 245 million adults would cost between $1.2 and $1.3 trillion, according to estimates cited in reporting, while Atlantic Council economist Josh Lipsky said tariff revenue, the funding source Vice President JD Vance pointed to, isn’t even flowing yet, with the government still refunding previously collected tariffs and unlikely to see meaningful net revenue for six months to a year. Even once positive, that revenue would likely fall between $100 and $200 billion annually, nowhere near enough to cover the promised checks.
Budget expert Maya MacGuineas warned the short-term appeal of a physical check obscures long-term fiscal damage that could push interest rates and living costs even higher. Meanwhile, health policy expert Larry Levitt dismissed the smaller $500 rebate as barely making a dent for the relatively few people who’d actually qualify, given that only about a million of the nation’s 19.2 million ACA exchange enrollees would see a payment at all.
Even some Republican allies see the political risk. Former Pence chief of staff Marc Short warned that dangling government checks undercuts the GOP’s core midterm message branding Democrats as reckless socialists, blurring a line Republicans have spent all year trying to draw.
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