Trump makes a familiar promise: $5,000 checks for everyone
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Former President Trump promised $5,000 checks for every adult American citizen if Republicans retain control of Congress in the upcoming midterm election. The pledge echoes previous similar proposals that never materialized and would cost over $1.2 trillion to implement.
Trump promises $5,000 checks for adult citizens if the GOP sweeps midterm
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Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Trump makes a familiar promise: $5,000 checks for everyone
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!President Trump gestures to his left from a podium.
*President Trump at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images*
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.
**The big picture:** Voters are angry. Polls consistently show they feel the economy is bad and getting worse, they're preoccupied with inflation, and the most visible signs of stress — prices at the gas pump and the grocery store — are rising by the day.
* With Trump's approval rating on the economy more than 25 points underwater, the prospect of a fat check may be one of the few levers the administration has left to pull.
**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 tariffrebate 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%.
**Friction point:** The bond market is increasingly uncomfortable with rising government spending and expanding deficits, pushing yields on some Treasuries to multi-decade highs in recent weeks.
* That's raising all sorts of costs for the very Americans who'd receive Trump's checks.
* But the threat of a massive increase in spending to fund them could push yields higher still.
* The Treasury Department intervened in the market last month to push long-term yields down; as of Thursday morning the benefits of that intervention have been all but erased, with the 30-year bond back above 5.3%.
**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.
*Editor's note: This story has been updated with market data.*
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Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Trump makes a familiar promise: $5,000 checks for everyone
* Ben Berkowitz
*
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see more of our stories on Google.
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!President Trump gestures to his left from a podium.
*President Trump at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images*
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.
**The big picture:** Voters are angry. Polls consistently show they feel the economy is bad and getting worse, they're preoccupied with inflation, and the most visible signs of stress — prices at the gas pump and the grocery store — are rising by the day.
* With Trump's approval rating on the economy more than 25 points underwater, the prospect of a fat check may be one of the few levers the administration has left to pull.
**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 tariffrebate 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%.
**Friction point:** The bond market is increasingly uncomfortable with rising government spending and expanding deficits, pushing yields on some Treasuries to multi-decade highs in recent weeks.
* That's raising all sorts of costs for the very Americans who'd receive Trump's checks.
* But the threat of a massive increase in spending to fund them could push yields higher still.
* The Treasury Department intervened in the market last month to push long-term yields down; as of Thursday morning the benefits of that intervention have been all but erased, with the 30-year bond back above 5.3%.
**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.
*Editor's note: This story has been updated with market data.*
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