President Donald Trump wants to send $2,000 checks to working-class Americans, but the proposal faces difficult prospects on Capitol Hill.
Fresh off the Republicans' disappointing election results in early November, Trump turned his attention to appealing to voters. concern on affordability and sees rate rebate checks as the centerpiece of that effort. Many Republicans told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Thursday they don't support the idea, arguing tariff revenues rather than four-figure checks should be used to pay down the debt. (RELATED: Trump Announces Elimination of Tariffs on Food Essentials Including Beef, Coffee Amid Affordability Threats for Americans)
“I would say reduce the deficit,” North Carolina Republican Sen. Ted Budd said Thursday, noting that the government is spending more on interest payments on the debt than on national defense.
“Ultimately, what's going to take away people's future opportunities is the interest on the debt,” Budd added. “So let’s work to eliminate the deficit and reduce the debt.”
“My opinion is to pay off the debt because it is causing us as much problems as anything else,” Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville told DCNF.This would help the economy. This will help reduce prices. This will help ease the tax burden.”
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 2: U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) speaks as U.S. President Donald Trump looks on in the Oval Office of the White House on September 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“We're going to give dividends to people—low, middle and moderate income people—of at least $2,000,” Trump said audience at the US-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum on Wednesday.
The proposal for $2,000 checks comes as the national debt nears record levels and the government ran a nearly $1.8 trillion deficit in the previous fiscal year. Although the president did not specify the exact amount of checks or their frequency, some economists have suggested that anxiety that rebate checks could increase the budget deficit.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said payment of the tariff dividend would require action by Congress. The Republican leadership is still skeptical about this idea.
“I'd like to see this [tariff revenue] pay off the debt,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters when asked about the check proposal.
Thune added that he would consider any proposal from the administration, but had not heard about the idea from the president.
The checks also appear to face deep resistance from leading fiscal hawks and moderate Republicans who were willing to go against Trump during the first year of his second term.
“We don’t have money to give away,” Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul told DCNF. “We have a $2 trillion hole.”
“I don’t agree with that,” North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said of the proposed $2,000 payments.
Tillis and Paul were among five Republican senators who voted end the president's authority to impose tariffs on Brazil. Gender also supported bipartisan efforts to stop the president from imposing tariffs on Canada and U.S. trading partners.
Not every GOP lawmaker is likely to oppose the president's audit proposal. Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley revealed Legislation was passed in July to send rebate checks to working-class Americans using proceeds from Trump's tariffs.
A White House spokesman told DCNF that the President is committed to developing beneficial economic policies for the American working class, citing tax reduction was passed in July by Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill.
Andie Shae Napier contributed to this report.
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