Top Republicans didn’t expect Trump’s dividends. Now they’re scrambling.

Top Republicans didn’t expect Trump’s dividends. Now they’re scrambling. - POLITICO

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Top Republicans didn’t expect Trump’s dividends. Now they’re scrambling.

As they gathered in Dallas, GOP lawmakers wavered from full-on embrace to full-on avoidance of the president’s promise of $5,000 checks to Americans.

!President Donald Trump speaks during the first day of the Republican National Committee Midterm Convention

*President Donald Trump unveiled his plans for $5,000 dividend checks during a speech at the Republican National Committee Midterm Convention on Wednesday night.

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Shuran Huang for POLITICO*

By Meredith Lee Hill, Jason Beeferman and Mia McCarthy

09/10/2026 06:33 PM EDT

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DALLAS — Top Republican lawmakers had no idea President Donald Trump was going to promise $5,000 checks to every adult American so long as his party keeps control of Congress. Now, they’re grappling with how to handle the fallout.

GOP leaders have privately pushed back on similar Trump promises of giving money to Americans in the past year, according to four people granted anonymity to share details of closed-door meetings. Senior Republicans on Capitol Hill were blindsided by Trump’s Wednesday night announcement in Dallas, and are trying to manage lawmakers’ and voters’ expectations about a trillion-dollar-plus proposal they cannot deliver.

“The only thing that I knew of was that he has this concept of a dividend of all Americans being able to share in the success of America,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who appeared supportive of the idea, said in an interview on the sidelines of the party’s midterm convention. “But last night, no, I was just like you and everybody else when I went, ‘Oh, that’s interesting. Okay.’”

NRCC Chair Richard Hudson added in an interview: “First, I’d heard of it, so I want to talk to him and get some details before I comment.” Hudson said the idea was “exciting,” but he didn’t indicate the House GOP campaign arm would start touting the idea in ads for battleground candidates.

As for the chances of the measure passing Congress, Hudson responded: “Not this Congress. Because Democrats in the Senate will never go through with it.”

Republican leaders, indeed, don’t have the votes to pass such an offer this year, with some in the party questioning the legality of Trump effectively declaring he would pay for votes. GOP fiscal hawks and others also quickly shot it down.

And some Republicans worry Trump’s last-ditch move steps on their carefully laid messaging about the economic benefits of their major tax cuts package — benefits which have largely been erased by the Iran war and tariffs, according to five senior Republicans, who were also granted anonymity to speak candidly.

“It seems incredibly desperate,” said one of the House Republicans.

“I see zero chance of this happening,” said another House Republican at the convention.

The scramble to figure out their position — and how serious Trump is — comes at a critical final stretch of the midterms and as many voters grow increasingly skeptical of the GOP’s record on the economy.

Democrats were quick to slam Trump’s announcement as a way to bribe Americans and distract from an unpopular trade agenda and war in the Middle East. And as Republicans gathered in Dallas for their splashy midterm convention, the emerging splits over the dividends were on full display.

GOP lawmakers have privately noted a clear divide in the messaging around Trump’s promise of $5,000 checks: The White House and Trump’s campaign social media accounts are wholeheartedly touting the idea. GOP House and Senate campaign arms, meanwhile, are not. The NRSC declined to comment on the proposal.

Vice President JD Vance defended Trump’s offer on Fox News shortly after the president announced it Wednesday night, saying it was intended to boost “the American middle class.” But Vance did not mention the Trump proposal during a closed-door breakfast with GOP lawmakers, state party officials and activists from key battleground states on Thursday morning, instead touting a string of GOP economic achievements like Trump’s executive action that aims to lower prescription drug costs and the GOP tax cuts package.

!Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (left) JD Vance (center) and other attendees at the convention

*The crowd acknowledges Vice President JD Vance on night one of the Republican Midterm Convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sept. 9.

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Shuran Huang for POLITICO*

“I think we’re all looking forward to learning more,” said Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) as he left the closed-door breakfast with Vance.

Asked if he would support Trump’s proposal, Steil repeated, “I think we’re all looking forward to learning more.”

While Republicans scramble to figure out how to position themselves on the “dividend” pledge, Trump told CBS on Thursday he doesn’t think he needs Congress to approve his plan to send out payments.

Amy Natoce, a spokesperson for Ohio GOP Sen. Jon Husted, who faces a tough battle for reelection this fall, said his team “has reached out to the White House to learn more about the proposal and how it would work.” Natoce noted that “putting money directly back into the pockets of hardworking Ohioans is in line with Jon Husted’s priorities.”

Some Republicans were willing to more fully embrace the idea.

Watch: The Conversation

Stephen A. Smith on Trump, Democrats and the politics of chaos

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Stephen A. Smith on Trump, Democrats and the politics of chaos

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday that it was “an incentive for work” — even though the money will go to all Americans regardless of employment status. Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno pledged to draft up a bill on the checks “so that we can get the Trump Dividend passed immediately after the November 3rd election.” Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, who’s facing a surprisingly competitive race, eagerl