US President Donald Trump has pledged to give every adult American a $5,000 federal “dividend” if Republicans win control of both chambers of Congress in November’s US midterm elections.
Trump made the promise on Wednesday at the Republican Party’s first midterm conference in Dallas, Texas. He turned the campaign event into a pitch that could put billions of dollars directly into Americans’ hands.
“If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them,” Trump said, he would issue the payment “to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.”
According to Reuters, Trump described the proposed payment as a dividend but gave no details about how the government would fund or administer the plan.
ABC News reported that Trump told the convention he would pay every adult American a $5,000 “dividend” if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate.
Trump said the proposal was feasible “because of our tremendous strength and success economically,” according to ABC News.
He also said Americans must spend the funds within the United States.
The plan would require a significant federal investment.
According to Reuters, paying $5,000 to 270 million adult Americans could cost about $1.35 trillion. The news agency also said the proposal’s practicality and legality remained unclear.
The Associated Press estimated that the proposed payments could cost more than $1 trillion. It also raised questions about how the government would fund and administer the plan.
Vice President JD Vance appeared to qualify Trump’s pledge by suggesting that higher-income Americans might not receive the payment, according to the Associated Press.
Backstory…
With all House seats and about one-third of Senate seats up for grabs in the November 3 midterm elections, Republicans are fighting to retain their congressional majorities.
Although Trump is not on the ballot, he has sought to make himself the centre of the US midterm campaign by urging supporters to vote as if he were running.
ABC News quoted him telling the crowd: “So I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot. I’m on the ballot. I’m on the ballot.”
Trump’s latest proposal also echoes an earlier plan to provide direct payments to Americans.
Recall that in February of 2025, Forbes reported that Trump was considering a “DOGE dividend” funded from savings generated by the Department of Government Efficiency, after Elon Musk proposed $5,000 refund cheques for taxpayers.
However, the earlier proposal did not lead to a $5,000 payment for Americans nationwide.
Trump’s latest announcement therefore represents a political pledge, not an existing federal payment programme.
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