President Donald Trump has promised a $5,000 payment to every American adult if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress in the coming midterm elections.
Trump made the promise of a so-called “Trump dividend” at the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday night. He said the money would have to be spent in the U.S., although he did not offer details on how that restriction would be enforced. TIME has reached out to the White House for comment.
“Here is my promise: If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate,” Trump said, “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.”
Such a plan would require congressional approval. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R, Ohio) endorsed the proposal and said he would prepare legislation to pass the dividend after the election.
The proposal could also have significant economic consequences. The U.S. has roughly 240 million adult citizens, according to Census Bureau data, putting the proposal’s cost at approximately $1.2 trillion. Unless offset by new revenue or spending cuts, the payments would likely widen the federal budget deficit—which totaled nearly $1.8 trillion in fiscal 2025—and could add to inflationary pressures.
Vice President J.D. Vance later narrowed the proposal, suggesting that wealthy Americans would not qualify. He added that the payments could be financed by tariff revenue, which amounted to around $154.5 billion in the first 10 months of fiscal 2026 through July.
Trump suggested that the dividend would be financed by “tremendous economic success” from his policies.
“The reason the Democrats can’t do that is because they don’t do tariffs, they don’t take in money, all they know is poverty,” the President said.
In his first term, Trump authorized two rounds of congressionally-approved stimulus checks during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, he also compared the promised dividend with the $1,776 “Warrior Dividend” announced for military service members in December, which was funded by a congressionally approved housing supplement.
Some, however, are skeptical about the idea.
Rep. Chip Roy, (R, Texas) told Politico, “I would like to know how they would plan to pay for … back of envelope … well over $1 trillion.”
The Democratic National Committee said Trump and Republicans have repeatedly promised rebate checks that never materialized.
The President previously promised to send $2,000 tariff dividends to Americans. He also endorsed returning 20% of DOGE savings to taxpayers and depositing $1,000 or more into eligible Americans’ health savings accounts. None of these payments has gone out: the DOGE and tariff dividends were never enacted, and the HSA legislation—a Republican alternative to extending enhanced ACA premium tax credits, which expired at the end of 2025—failed in the Senate. The Administration is reportedly preparing a $500 rebate for some unsubsidized ACA enrollees.
“Donald Trump and Republicans are once again offering empty promises to Americans,” DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer said in a statement. “The only people reaping the benefits of Trump’s economy are himself, his family, and his ultra-rich elite donors. Meanwhile, working families get nothing except sky-high receipts at the grocery store and the pump, unaffordable healthcare premiums, and wages that aren’t keeping up with inflation.”
Trump’s pledge comes at a low point for his popularity in his second term. His approval rating fell from 47% at the beginning of the term to 33% in mid-August, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. Americans have expressed growing dissatisfaction with the economy and the war in Iran, now in its seventh month. Concerns about affordability, intensified by wartime supply disruptions, have propelled progressive Democratic candidates to a series of primary victories.
The President cast the congressional elections as a referendum on his presidency, telling voters at the convention to “pretend that I’m on the ballot.”
