Trump Provides Update On Plan to Distribute $2,000 Tariff Rebate Checks
As the 2026 midterm elections draw closer, debate continues over President Donald Trump’s proposal to issue $2,000 stimulus-style rebate checks funded by revenue from his sweeping import tariffs — a plan the White House says would reward working Americans while holding foreign producers accountable.
President Trump has said the payments would go to low- and middle-income Americans in mid-to-late 2026, with the funds generated by tariffs imposed as part of his broader America First trade agenda. The idea has gained attention since Trump began publicly promoting it in July, but significant hurdles remain before any checks are mailed.
Among the biggest obstacles are a pending U.S. Supreme Court case that could determine the legality of the tariffs, uncertainty over whether tariff revenue alone would be sufficient to finance such a large-scale program, and the reality that congressional approval would be required.
Some Republican lawmakers have voiced skepticism. Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, for example, has said he would prefer tariff revenue be used to pay down the nation’s roughly $38 trillion debt rather than distributed as rebate checks.
Several senior administration officials have publicly weighed in. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has floated an income cutoff of $100,000 for eligibility, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has defended the concept as a way to return trade-related gains directly to American households.
More recently, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett emphasized that the plan’s future hinges on Capitol Hill. Appearing on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Hassett said the proposal’s fate “depends on what happens with Congress.”
“The deficit relative to last year is down by $600 billion, and so in the summer, I wasn’t so sure that there was space for a check like that, but now I’m pretty sure that there is, and so I would expect that in the new year, the President will bring forth a proposal to Congress to make that happen,” said Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, during the Dec. 21 interview.
Any rebate program would require Congress to draft and pass legislation appropriating the funds. According to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, the cost of the checks could range from $279.8 billion to $606.8 billion.
The group estimates that Trump’s tariffs would generate approximately $207.5 billion in revenue in 2026, on top of roughly $205 billion collected through October of this year, with additional revenue expected in the remaining months of 2025.
Hassett also suggested that tariff revenue would not necessarily be the sole funding source.
“It could come from from tariff revenue, but in the end, you know, we get taxes, we get tariffs, we get revenue from lots of places, and then Congress decides how to spend those monies,” he said. “That’s an appropriation.”
Despite the uncertainty, President Trump has continued to signal that the $2,000 payments remain part of his economic vision. He said the rebates would likely be distributed to eligible Americans “probably in the middle of next year.”
“We’re going to be issuing dividends later on, some somewhere prior to, probably in the middle of next year, a little bit later than that. Thousands of dollars for individuals of moderate income, middle income,” Trump said on Nov. 17, according to Axios.
Earlier this month, Trump announced that members of the U.S. military would receive $1,776 bonuses — dubbed “Warrior Dividends” — by the end of the year, citing tariff revenue as a funding source. In a nationwide address, the president suggested the bonuses had been planned for some time but deliberately kept quiet.
“Along with the just passed one Big Beautiful bill, tonight, I am also proud to announce that more than 1450 thousand — think of this: 1,450,000 military service members will receive a special — we call it warrior dividend, before Christmas, a warrior dividend,” Trump said.
“In honor of our nation’s founding in 1776, we are sending every soldier $1776. Think of that. And the checks are already on the way. Nobody understood that one until about 30 minutes ago,” he added.
As Congress weighs its next steps, Trump’s tariff-funded rebate proposal is shaping up to be a defining economic and political flashpoint heading into 2026.