DALLAS, United States — President Donald Trump promised on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, to give $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain control of Congress in November.
The proposal, announced at the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Dallas, could cost more than $1 trillion.
It immediately drew objections from Republican lawmakers, conservative economists and some of Trump’s political allies.
Administration officials spent Thursday examining how the payments could be financed and administered, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
A White House fact sheet offered no funding mechanism or implementation plan.
Officials Seek Details
Trump discussed the proposal before his speech with a limited group of political advisers, including Jason Miller and James Blair, according to a Trump adviser who spoke to CNN.
Many officials elsewhere in the administration had not been briefed, two people familiar with the matter said.
A White House official disputed that account, saying Trump had raised the idea with senior staff before the convention and that his announcement had not surprised them.
The fact sheet issued on Thursday said the administration was prepared to “put $5,000 directly into Americans’ pockets” but did not explain where the money would come from.
Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman, defended Trump’s record against sceptics but did not directly address whether or how the government would make the proposed payments.
Trump suggested during his convention speech that tariff revenue could help finance the cheques. His announcement did not include calculations showing how much revenue would be available.
Resistance Within the Republican Party
Several Republican lawmakers objected to the proposal, questioning its cost, its prospects in Congress and its compatibility with the party’s opposition to large federal spending programmes.
Wilma May, a small-business owner from Arlington who attended the convention, said, “I’m not into free stuff.”
She told CNN she would prefer that the government use the money to reduce the federal deficit.
Stephen Moore, an outside economic adviser to Trump, opposed the proposal and said administration allies were trying to determine where the idea had originated.
Direct payments of that size could have damaging economic consequences, he said.
Joe Lonsdale, a Republican donor close to Donald Trump Jr., also criticised the pledge. Writing on X, he said he supported a Republican midterm victory but opposed what he regarded as cash inducements to voters.
Republican congressional leaders had not previously discussed the proposal, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Some lawmakers nevertheless expressed support. Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio said he intended to prepare legislation authorising the payments by November.
A Difficult Legislative Path
Congress would have to approve legislation providing more than $1 trillion for the cheques, according to lawmakers and budget experts.
That amount would exceed half of all federal discretionary spending during the 2025 fiscal year, based on figures from the Congressional Budget Office.
Trump gave conflicting accounts of whether congressional action would be necessary.
In a Fox News interview, he appeared to acknowledge that lawmakers would have to approve the plan and blamed Democrats for delaying earlier payment proposals.
In a separate CBS interview, however, Trump said Republicans could act through Congress if required but maintained that he believed the administration could distribute the money without legislation.
Two estimates cited by CNN placed the proposal’s total budgetary cost at about $1.2 trillion.
The federal debt reached a record $40 trillion in August. The government is also projected to record a deficit of nearly $1.9 trillion during the 2027 fiscal year, which begins on October 1.
The Tax Foundation estimated that revenue from new tariffs in 2027 would cover only about one-tenth of the payments’ cost.
Erica York, a senior economist at the organisation, said financing the programme through additional debt could increase inflationary pressure, push interest rates higher and undermine confidence in the government’s management of its finances.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said the proposal would enlarge the deficit and raise borrowing costs.
Moore said that if the government had more than $1 trillion available, reductions in payroll or income taxes would provide stronger economic incentives than one-time cheques.
Economic Concerns Ahead of the Midterms
Trump made the pledge as his administration faced persistent voter dissatisfaction over living costs and inflation.
The war with Iran has added to those pressures. US and global benchmark oil prices rose above $100 a barrel during the Republican convention, while the average price of diesel reached a record $5.98 a gallon on Thursday.
Trump has played down concerns about affordability, describing them as a political argument promoted by Democrats.
His administration has nevertheless recently emphasised measures intended to reduce the prices of products including ground beef and certain medicines.
The president has previously supported direct government payments. He approved two rounds of stimulus cheques during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
In 2025, he proposed $5,000 “DOGE dividends” linked to projected savings from reductions in the federal workforce. He later suggested $2,000 cheques financed by tariffs. Neither proposal resulted in payments.
Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the House, said he had previously discussed tariff-funded payments with Trump but had not expected the convention announcement.
“The danger he has is that the way it was rolled out, it will sound like a gimmick,” Gingrich said.
