President Trump announced Sunday that his administration will send $2,000 checks to Americans using money collected from tariffs.
“A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He called opponents of tariffs “FOOLS!” and said the country is taking in “Trillions of Dollars” that will help pay down the national debt.
The proposal would require Congressional approval to become reality. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced similar legislation this summer that would provide $600 tariff rebates to most Americans and their children, The Hill reported.
“My legislation would allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trump’s tariffs are returning to this country,” Hawley said at the time. (RELATED: Trump Says He’s ‘Thinking About’ Sending Tariff-Funded Rebate Checks To Americans)
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in August that the administration plans to use tariff revenue to reduce the $38.12 trillion national debt. Trump also said Sunday the revenue would pay down the “ENORMOUS” debt.
The Treasury Department collected $195 billion from tariff duties through the first three quarters of this year, according to its September statement.
Consumers now face an average effective tariff rate of 18 percent, the highest level since 1934, according to the Yale Budget Lab. Companies have passed some tariff costs to customers after Trump imposed broad tariffs on trading partners in April.
The president did not specify when Americans might receive the proposed payments or how the administration would fund both debt reduction and individual checks.
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