Trump pitches $5,000 checks, but only if GOP wins House and Senate

President Trump vowed Wednesday to send a $5,000 “dividend” to every American citizen after the midterms, but only if Republicans hold onto control of the House and Senate.

The announcement came almost an hour into Mr. Trump’s speech to the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas, as he seeks to rally Republican voters and fight significant political headwinds in the November elections.

“If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000,” he said.

The president did not offer details on how the payments — which he dubbed “Trump Dividends” — would work, including whether he plans to ask Congress to authorize the checks. He has floated the idea of cutting checks to U.S. citizens in the past, including $2,000 dividends funded by tariffs.

There is some precedent for broad-based payments to U.S. households. In 2020 and 2021, Congress allowed the Biden and first Trump administrations to send out several rounds of checks to American households in an effort to stimulate the COVID-ravaged economy. But any economic stimulus program runs the risk of causing inflation to spike, and many economists believe the pandemic-era stimulus was at least partially responsible for the rise in consumer prices that ensued over the following years.

During Wednesday’s speech, Mr. Trump likened the payments to his Trump Account child investment funds, which were authorized by Congress, and last year’s “warrior dividend” bonuses to U.S. service members, which were funded through a military housing supplement approved by lawmakers.

This is a breaking story; it will be updated.