GET READY — Trump Just Revealed Date for $5,000 Checks
Trump Drops $5,000 Check Pledge During GOP Midterm Convention
President Donald Trump made a giant splash to help kick off day one of the Republican Party’s first midterm convention.
Trump made an extraordinary economic promise Wednesday night, telling Americans they would receive a $5,000 government “dividend” if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress in the November midterm elections.
Trump unveiled the proposal during a nearly two-hour address at the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Dallas, presenting the payment as a benefit Americans would receive from what he described as the country’s economic strength.
“If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” Trump told the crowd.
He said the payments would be called the “Trump dividend” and compared the idea to a successful corporation distributing profits to shareholders.
Trump added one condition: Recipients would be required to spend the money inside the United States.
“If the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000,” Trump said.
The announcement immediately raised major questions about cost, eligibility, funding and how such a program could legally be implemented.
Trump did not explain during his speech where the government would obtain the money or whether there would be income limits or other eligibility requirements beyond adulthood and U.S. citizenship.
Providing $5,000 to every adult citizen would likely require more than $1 trillion in federal spending. Reuters estimated the cost could reach approximately $1.35 trillion depending on the number of eligible recipients.
Any large-scale federal payment program would also require congressional authorization. The Constitution gives Congress control over federal spending, and the Government Accountability Office notes that money generally cannot be paid from the Treasury unless Congress has provided an appropriation through law.
That makes Trump’s requirement that Republicans control both the House and Senate particularly relevant.
Even with Republican majorities, Congress would still have to pass legislation providing authority and funding for the payments unless lawmakers identified some existing statutory authority that could be used.
Vice President JD Vance offered additional details after Trump’s announcement, suggesting the final proposal might not actually provide $5,000 to every adult citizen.
Vance indicated wealthier Americans could be excluded and suggested tariff revenue could help finance the payments. The White House had not released a detailed written plan as of Thursday morning.
The potential cost would far exceed recent annual tariff collections.
Trump has previously proposed using tariff revenue to make direct payments to Americans. In 2025, he floated a separate $2,000 tariff-funded rebate, but Congress never approved that proposal and the payments were not issued.
Wednesday’s $5,000 proposal is considerably larger.
Trump framed the dividend as part of a broader argument that voters should treat the November congressional elections as a referendum on his administration.
“I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” Trump told convention attendees as he urged Republicans to turn out for House and Senate candidates.
The Republican Party is attempting to retain control of both chambers in the Nov. 3 elections, making congressional control central to whether Trump could pursue major legislative proposals during the second half of his term.
Trump’s dividend announcement came nearly an hour into his convention address and was one of the most unexpected policy proposals of the evening.
CBS News reported that the president provided few details about how the payments would operate. Trump compared the proposal to other government-backed payments, including the “Trump Accounts” established for children and payments previously provided to members of the military. Those programs, however, relied on congressional authorization or previously appropriated money.
There is also recent precedent for the federal government sending large direct payments to households.
Congress authorized three rounds of pandemic stimulus payments in 2020 and 2021. The first two were approved during Trump’s first administration, while the third was enacted after President Joe Biden took office.
Those payments were created through legislation passed by Congress rather than unilateral presidential action.
Economists continue to debate the degree to which pandemic-era stimulus contributed to the subsequent rise in inflation.
Researchers generally identify multiple factors, including government stimulus, supply-chain disruptions, changes in consumer demand and monetary policy.
VIDEO: Chaos At Obama's Home – Secret Service Calls For Back-Up As Fight Breaks Out
VIDEO: Chaos at Obama’s Home As Secret Service Agents Brawl Outside
A video of a confrontation between two Secret Service officers has surfaced a week after a report said there had been a scuffle among agents outside of former President Barack Obama’s Washington, D.C., residence.
The video was obtained by RealClearPolitics national correspondent Susan Crabtree, who broke the original story of the fight between the two female agents.
Crabtree noted on the X platform that she had “obtained video of the fight between two women Secret Service Uniformed Division Officers outside former President Obama’s residence last week after one officer called a supervisor to come before ‘I whoop this girl’s ass.'”
“The skirmish is raising new questions about whether DEI is still plaguing the USSS despite Trump’s directive to abolish it. The Secret Service has not responded to my inquiries on whether these two officers are being disciplined and/or are still on the job,” she added.
“I need a supervisor out here… immediately before I whoop this girl’s ass,” one of the women said into the radio last week.
FRACAS OUTSIDE OBAMA RESIDENCE RAISES NEW QUESTIONS: Get a supervisor “immediately before I whoop this girl’s ass.”
Two female Secret Service Uniformed Division officers got into a physical fight outside former… pic.twitter.com/RmEDx6BWXD
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) May 22, 2025
The Secret Service confirmed the fight between the two agents to the New York Post.
“The U.S. Secret Service is aware of an on-duty altercation that occurred between two Uniformed Division officers at approximately 2:30 a.m. on May 21,” the spokesman said.
“The individuals involved were suspended from duty and this matter is the subject of an internal investigation,” the spokesperson told the outlet. “The Secret Service has a very strict code of conduct for all employees and any behavior that violates that code is unacceptable. Given this is a personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further.”
“The woman officer who made the call was upset that her shift replacement was late and assailed her verbally and physically when she finally did arrive to relieve her. Audio of the early a.m. call is now circulating among agents and officers and is attached to this X post,” Crabtree wrote last week in a lengthy X post when she first reported the incident.
“It’s unclear whether either woman was injured or whether they will be disciplined over the altercation. The fight did not wake anyone in the Obama residence or the surrounding neighborhood, the sources said,” she added.
“The incident is raising new concerns among fellow Secret Service agents and officers about the agency’s lowering of hiring standards during years of a major DEI push to add more minorities and women to the ranks under previous Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle,” Crabtree continued.
“Cheatle resigned under a cloud after the J13 assassination attempt against Donald Trump. The Secret Service for years has experienced low morale and a severe manpower shortage, which is also contributing to lower hiring standards as the agency works to increase its agents and officers,” she said, referencing the July 13 incident in Butler, Pa.
She added in another X post: “Numerous sources in the Secret Service community have questioned whether Sean Curran, who Trump tapped to lead the agency, is doing anything to roll back the agency’s DEI initiatives. For instance, they wonder if he has rescinded Cheatle’s previous commitment to a national 30×30 pledge that has a goal of hiring 30% women in law enforcement by 2030.”
