President Donald Trump has promised to give every adult American $5,000 if Republicans win control of both chambers of Congress in November’s midterm elections.
Trump made the pledge while addressing Republicans at a party convention in Dallas, Texas. He did not explain how the payments would be funded or what legal and legislative steps would be needed to deliver them.
The proposal could cost the federal government about $1.3 trillion if it were extended to roughly 270 million American adults.
Trump calls it a “dividend”
Trump presented the proposal as a reward for voters and said the money would have to be spent inside the United States.
“If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” Trump said.
He added that recipients should not spend the money overseas.
“We don’t want you going to Canada to spend the money,” he said. “We don’t want you going to China, to Germany. You got to spend the money in the United States of America.”
Trump did not say how the government would ensure that recipients spent the money domestically.
Questions over the cost
The size of the proposed payout immediately raises questions about its cost.
With nearly 270 million adults in the United States, payments of $5,000 each would amount to roughly $1.35 trillion.
Trump did not identify a source of funding for the proposal. He also did not say whether he would seek congressional approval for the payments.
Under the US system, Congress controls federal spending. Any large-scale government payment programme would therefore face scrutiny over its funding and legal authority.
The proposal also comes as American households continue to face pressure from the cost of living, making a cash payment potentially attractive to voters.
Democrats challenge the promise
Democrats quickly criticised Trump’s announcement, describing it as an electoral promise rather than a fully developed economic policy.
The proposal is also likely to face questions over election law.
Federal law restricts certain payments or benefits intended to influence voting. But legal experts have noted that the exact treatment of Trump’s proposal could depend on how the payment is structured and presented.
Some experts have suggested that it could instead be framed as a tax reduction or another form of economic relief, potentially changing the legal questions surrounding it.
For now, Trump has provided few details beyond the size of the proposed payment and the condition that Republicans first win control of both chambers of Congress.
Not Trump’s first cash-payment proposal
The pledge is not the first time Trump has floated the idea of sending money directly to Americans.
He has previously backed $2,000 payments funded through revenue generated by tariffs.
Other politicians have also made similar promises during election campaigns. Democrats in Georgia, for example, proposed $2,000 relief payments during the coronavirus pandemic if their party won control of the US Senate.
Trump’s latest proposal, however, would be considerably larger in scale.
For now, it remains a campaign pledge rather than an approved government programme. Republicans would first have to win control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, while Congress would still have to address the funding and legal questions surrounding the proposed “Trump Dividends”.
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