Trump Suggests $2,000 Tariff Rebate Checks Won’t Need Congressional Approval

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he believes his proposed $2,000 tariff “dividend” checks for Americans can be enacted without Congressional approval, even as top Republicans have said Congress would need to approve the checks for them to be sent out.

Trump said, “I don’t think we would have to go the Congress route but you know, we’ll find out.”

Trump was responding to a question from a reporter who asked if Trump agreed with White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett, who last month said the checks will “depend on what happens with Congress” and that he expected Trump to bring a formal proposal to Congress this year.

Trump said revenue from tariffs, which brought $289 billion last year, will be used to issue the dividend checks and also pay down the national debt, which was $38.4 trillion as of Jan. 9.

The president added there would be an income limit for the checks and noted, “I believe we can do that without Congress.”

Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last year the checks would require Congressional approval, telling Fox Business “we need legislation for that.” Bessant previously said payments “could come in lots of forms,” including tax cuts.

Key Background

Trump has tested the limits of his executive power and its relationship with Congress. His sweeping tariff policy is probably the largest example of that, enacting the duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows presidents to impose sanctions amid national emergencies. The Supreme Court is set to rule on the legality of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs soon, with Hassett saying last week Trump would impose 10% tariffs across the board “to make up most of the room” if the IEEPA tariffs were struck down.

During his lengthy press briefing on Tuesday, in which he highlighted achievements over the past year, Trump reaffirmed his proposal for the checks.

Washington —

President Donald Trump has doubled down on his proposal to issue $2,000 tariff rebate checks, suggesting he won’t need Congress to issue the checks to Americans.

During his lengthy press briefing on Tuesday, in which he highlighted achievements over the past year, Trump reaffirmed his proposal for the checks.

Trump said on Tuesday. “The reason we’re even talking about it is that we have so much money coming in from tariffs that we’ll be able to issue at least a $2,000 dividend and also pay down debt for the country.”

“We’ll do a $2,000 dividend to the people of our country, and we’ll probably set an income limit, where it makes sense,” he added before doubling down that he believes it could be done without Congress.

Earlier this month, the president gave a new timeline on when those payments could arrive for Americans, giving it “toward the end of the year.” He previously had stated the $2,000 checks would come by mid-2026.

Can Trump send out $2,000 tariff checks?

The president has repeatedly teased the idea of sending one-time $2,000 rebate checks to many Americans from tariff revenue.

While Trump has said these proposed checks would arrive in 2026, several administration officials have warned that the president’s proposal for tariff checks would require congressional approval.

At this point, it appears to be a long shot that Congress would OK the plan.

Several Republican senators have shot down the tariff rebate check plan publicly, calling the proposal everything from “a bad idea” to “insane.” Most conservatives instead want to use any tariff revenue to pay down the massive national debt.

The latest remarks come as the Supreme Court is soon expected to issue a ruling on the legality of Trump’s tariffs.

In a November hearing, the justices sounded skeptical about the Trump administration’s assertion of sweeping power to declare national emergencies to justify the tariffs.Trump has bypassed Congress, which has constitutional authority to levy taxes, including tariffs. If the court strikes down the tariffs, the Trump administration may have to refund the tariffs to importers, making dividend checks to American families no longer even a remote possibility.

ourt strikes down the tariffs, the Trump administration may have to refund the tariffs to importers, making dividend checks to American households no longer even a remote possibility.

Who would get $2,000 checks from Trump?

Multiple officials, including Trump, have said the checks would be for “working families” and for “moderate” and “middle” income families. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant has said the checks would have income limits.

Trump has boasted that “trillions of dollars” are coming into the U.S. from tariffs, but budget experts say the mathematics doesn’t quite add up.

This isn’t the first time Trump has pushed the idea of a payment for Americans due to his policies. In February, the Republican president said he liked the idea of giving some of the savings from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, back to Americans as a dividend.

For more such information, connect with us today: : www.globalmediaa.com