With the 2026 elections approaching, discussion continues around President Donald Trump\u2019s plan to issue $2,000 tariff-funded stimulus checks.
\nTrump has said he would distribute the rebates to low- and middle-income Americans in mid-to-late 2026, financing them through revenue generated by his broad import tariffs.
\nAlthough Trump has publicly promoted the idea since July, there is no assurance that the plan will be implemented.
\nSome Republican lawmakers have expressed reservations, questioning both the feasibility of the proposal and its prospects in Congress.
\nAmong them is Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, who has said he would prefer that tariff revenue be directed toward reducing the nation\u2019s roughly $38 trillion debt rather than issuing rebate checks.
\nSeveral members of Trump\u2019s administration have weighed in on the proposed tariff rebate plan.<\/p>\n
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has suggested an income cutoff of $100,000 for eligibility, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has defended the concept of the stimulus payments.
\nMore recently, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the proposal\u2019s future remains uncertain. Speaking on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Hassett said the plan\u2019s fate \u201cdepends on what happens with Congress.\u201d
\n\u201cThe deficit relative to last year is down by $600 billion, and so in the summer, I wasn\u2019t so sure that there was space for a check like that, but now I\u2019m pretty sure that there is, and so I would expect that in the new year, the President will bring forth a proposal to Congress to make that happen,\u201d said Hassett, director of the White House\u2019s National Economic Council, in the Dec. 21 interview.
\nCongress would need to draft and pass legislation to appropriate funding for the proposed stimulus checks, which independent tax policy group The Tax Foundation estimates would cost between $279.8 billion and $606.8 billion.<\/p>\n
The organization projects that Trump\u2019s tariffs would generate about $207.5 billion in revenue in 2026, in addition to roughly $205 billion collected through October of this year, with additional revenue expected in the remaining months of 2025.
\nDuring his appearance on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Hassett said funding for any rebate program could potentially come from sources beyond tariff revenue alone.
\n\u201cIt could come from from tariff revenue, but in the end, you know, we get taxes, we get tariffs, we get revenue from lots of places, and then Congress decides how to spend those monies,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s an appropriation.\u201d
\nTrump has reiterated that the $2,000 payments are still planned, saying they would likely be distributed to eligible Americans \u201cprobably in the middle of next year.\u201d
\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to be issuing dividends later on, some somewhere prior to, probably in the middle of next year, a little bit later than that. Thousands of dollars for individuals of moderate income, middle income,\u201d the president said on Nov. 17, as reported by Axios.<\/p>\n
He announced earlier this month in a nationwide address that military members would receive $1,776 bonuses \u2013 or \u201cWarrior Dividends\u201d \u2013 by the end of the year, citing tariff revenue as a source of that funding.
\nDuring his address, Trump implied that the bonuses had been planned for some time but had been kept under wraps.
\n\u201cAlong with the just passed one Big Beautiful bill, tonight, I am also proud to announce that more than 1450 thousand \u2014 think of this: 1,450,000 military service members will receive a special \u2014 we call it warrior dividend, before Christmas, a warrior dividend,\u201d Trump said.
\n\u201cIn honor of our nation\u2019s founding in 1776, we are sending every soldier $1776. Think of that. And the checks are already on the way. Nobody understood that one until about 30 minutes ago,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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