President Donald Trump’s vow to hand out $5,000 checks if Republicans hold on to control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections raises an immediate question: Can he really do that?
Trump announced his idea to send payments to “every adult” in a speech Wednesday at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas.
“Here is my promise,” he said. “If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000, very much like a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders.”
The proposal would only have one other “caveat,” Trump said, which is that the money must be spent in the U.S.
As of Thursday afternoon, the administration hadn’t shared details about how the funds would be distributed with this restriction. But there are several reasons to be skeptical that any money is coming your way.
Since the three rounds of pandemic-era stimulus checks, promises from politicians — namely Trump — to send direct payments to Americans have mostly gone unfulfilled. About 1.5 million members of the military received $1,776 “Warrior Dividends” last year, but remember those $5,000 DOGE checks floated in February 2025? They never materialized.
This time around may not be any different.
First, in order for the president to pursue these proposed payouts (per his terms), Republicans would have to dominate the midterms. The odds of a Republican House and a Republican Senate emerging from November’s elections are only 14% on Polymarket and 16% on Kalshi, the two leading prediction markets.
Trump acknowledged that his party has its work cut out for it as he announced the plan for “Trump dividends.”
“We might not win,” he said. “You win with us, and you get $5,000.” Later in the speech, he sounded more optimistic, saying, “We’re going to give you that Trump dividend of $5,000 if we win — and we’re going to win.”
However, even assuming the GOP retains majorities in both chambers, it’s still unlikely you’ll receive a $5,000 payout.
The main issue is a lack of enthusiasm among Republicans in Congress for more stimulus checks. Broadly speaking, fiscal conservatives do not want to add to the $40 trillion national debt with direct payments, and the price tag for these checks would be about $1 trillion. A precise cost cannot be estimated as the administration hasn’t shared information about a potential exclusion for the wealthy, as mentioned by Vice President JD Vance.
Will Congress approve $5,000 ‘Trump dividends’?
The Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse, which means sending $5,000 checks would require House and Senate approval.
DOGE checks and previously proposed tariff checks never advanced in large part because GOP congressional leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., opposed them, as did some rank-and-file Republicans and essentially all Democrats. Hoping for a different outcome this time, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said that he will introduce a bill to try to deliver Trump’s $5,000 checks.
Democrats blasted the plan as unlawful and financially reckless.
“Actually, only Congress can make that promise since it must appropriate those funds. And Congress would never do it because it is corrupt and blatantly illegal,” Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., wrote in a response on X.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused Trump of trying to “buy your vote,” while economist Peter Schiff called the move a “bribe.”
Fox News’ Bret Baier asked Vance in an interview after Trump’s speech how he responds to criticism from opponents that the president is “bribing voters to vote for Republicans” and risking more inflation. In response, Vance suggested the checks could be paid for with revenue from the Trump administration’s tariffs.
“If you keep us in power,” he said, “then you’re going to share in some of the benefit of this incredible wealth that we’re creating.”
Still, U.S. code states that it’s against the law “to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate.” It’s unclear how courts might view the unprecedented $5,000 dividend proposal that Trump has announced if legal challenges arise.
