U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his administration is considering sending rebate checks to American taxpayers, funded by revenues from new tariffs.
In an interview with OAN News, Trump described the potential payments as a “dividend” for U.S. citizens.
“We also might make a distribution to the people, almost like a dividend to the people of America,” Trump said. “We’re thinking maybe $1,000 to $2,000. It’d be great.”
Trump claimed that tariff revenues were beginning to rise and could eventually generate as much as $1 trillion annually. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave a more cautious estimate, projecting collections of over $500 billion.
Trump also suggested that part of the tariff income could be used to reduce the national debt. However, any plan to issue rebate checks would require congressional approval.
His remarks came during the second day of a partial government shutdown, triggered by Congress’ failure to pass a stopgap funding bill. The White House has also warned that federal employee layoffs could follow, with some job cuts potentially permanent.
