News chronological

AXIOS (Ben Berkowitz) - Trump makes a familiar promise: $5,000 checks for everyone Thu Sep 10 10:07:02 2026

President Trump is promising $5,000 checks for every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans retain control of Congress in the upcoming midterm election. Why it matters: He's made similar suggestions before, many times, none of which ever came to pass. - It'd also cost more than $1 trillion to fulfill. Driving the news: At Wednesday night's GOP midterm convention , Trump made the unexpected offer. - If Republicans keep control of both the House and the Senate, Trump said , ""I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000." Yes, but: It's not the first time the president has suggested some sort of rebate for Americans from his administration's policy actions. - In July 2025 and again in October 2025, he proposed the possibility of tariff rebate checks of up to $2,000. - Before that, in February 2025, Elon Musk floated the idea of $5,000 dividend checks from DOGE savings, an idea Trump later backed. - None of those were ever issued. Follow the money: The Census Bureau estimates there are about 245 million adult U.S. citizens. - Giving each of them $5,000 would cost $1.2 trillion. - Last fiscal year the government spent about $7 trillion, so Trump's proposal would nominally increase federal spending by more than 15%. What we're watching: The midterm is in 54 days. - If the GOP does pull off a sweep, expect to see Trump's promise all over TV the next day.