(NEXSTAR) — Though there are concerns over the reality of sending millions of Americans $2,000 tariff rebate checks, President Donald Trump has insisted they could be sent out in just a few months.
Trump previously wrote on Truth Social that “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” funded by the tariff revenue that the U.S. has collected this year would be sent out. He has since said “high income people” would not qualify for the payments, which would be issued to “our middle income people and lower income people.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted the dividends would go to “working families” and there would be “an income limit,” following in line with other methods used by the government to disburse payments. (Bessent previously said the dividend “could come in lots of forms,” like “tax decreases.”)
While a White House official told The Hill that the Trump administration “is committed to putting [tariff revenue] to good use for the American people,” additional details have been limited.
Trump’s proposal is expected to face roadblocks, including one major hiccup: a lack of tariff revenue.
Nonetheless, Trump on Monday said tariff dividends could be sent out next year, and revenue would still be used to pay down the federal deficit.
“It’ll be next year sometime,” Trump told reporters when asked when the dividends would be available.
“Everybody but the rich will get this,” he added.
Payments would require action from Congress. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said Sunday that the Senate should “take a look” at legislation providing $2,000 tariff checks to Americans.
While that isn’t available yet, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced legislation this summer that would send out tariff-funded payments much like the COVID-era stimulus checks.
Under Hawley’s bill, each adult would receive “at least $600,” as would each dependent child. That means a family of four could receive $2,400. Payments could increase “if tariff revenue exceeds current projections for 2025” and would also decrease based on household income.
The bill’s text says rebates would be reduced based on a taxpayer’s filing status and their adjusted gross income. That income threshold is $150,000 for those filing a joint return; $112,500 for those filing as a head of household; and $75,000 for a single taxpayer.
Trump expressed support for the idea in July, telling reporters that the U.S. has “so much money coming in” because of the tariffs that “we’re thinking about a little rebate.”
Other GOP senators, however, have expressed concerns that Trump’s $2,000 rebate proposal could add too much to the nation’s debt, The Hill reported.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he would like to see the revenues collected from higher tariffs be used to pay down the national debt, which has ballooned to $38 trillion. Senate Republican Policy Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.) said she wants to review Trump’s proposal more closely, but she shares Thune’s view that the revenues should be used to help reduce the deficit.
Using DOGE savings to send out payments is also “back on the table,” Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said last week.