Trump promised $5,000 checks if Republicans keep Congress. But Bessent backs the claim, but won’t say how the country would pay for them

At a Republican convention in Dallas last week, President Donald Trump offered what he called a “Trump Dividend” if voters help Republicans hold Congress in the midterms. The event was aimed at getting out the vote for GOP candidates.

In his Wednesday keynote speech, Trump said each American adult would receive the payment if his party keeps control. “So if the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000,” he said.

According to The Independent, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has since supported that plan. During a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, he said the administration can carry it out. He still declined to explain how the country would cover the cost.

Bessent tells House members Treasury is still working on a funding plan

California Democrat Rep. Juan Vargas asked whether the $5,000 checks would push up the nation’s $40 trillion debt. The question of how to fund the promise has followed it, as when Trump snapped at a reporter who raised the national debt. Bessent answered, “I believe there are ways to do it without increasing the debt.”

Vargas pressed him for details. Bessent said Treasury staff have been studying how to issue the payments without adding to the national debt. “I’m not ready to discuss it at present, but at Treasury we’ve been working on it for quite a while,” he said.

The Independent said it contacted the Treasury Department for comment. Trump has already argued that Congress may not have to approve the checks. “I think they will do it if we needed it, but we think not,” he told CBS News.

On Sunday’s Meet the Press, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would “work with the president hand in hand” on the idea. He stopped short of promising that the checks would actually go out.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia asked Johnson at a Tuesday press conference, “How is communism any different from what President Trump is doing getting equity stakes in tech and promising $5,000 checks to Americans and having equity in steel?” Johnson avoided a direct reply. He said the president “comes up with creative ideas all the time” and that House Republicans are “processing” the “Trump Dividend” proposal.

“What he is trying to articulate…if you want more money in your pockets, you gotta keep Republicans in charge,” Johnson said. “We have done that.” Johnson and other Republicans have accused Democrats of backing communist candidates in the midterms.

A new CBS News poll put Trump’s economic approval at 34 percent, with 66 percent saying they disapprove. The Independent reported that many households are having trouble covering routine costs, including groceries and gas.