Senator Questions Feasibility of $2K Tariff Checks: What's the Real Impact?

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Watch the video above: President Trump addresses tariffs and the prospect of $2,000 payments for Americans

(NEXSTAR) — President Trump’s proposal to distribute “a dividend of at least $2,000” to millions of Americans, funded by tariff revenues, has encountered further resistance. Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin recently expressed concerns, stating that the United States “can’t afford” such a measure.

Recent analyses lend credence to Senator Johnson’s concerns.

Earlier this month, Trump floated the idea of giving $2,000 tariff rebate checks to “middle income people and lower income people” in the United States. Although a White House representative informed The Hill of the administration’s dedication to using tariff revenue effectively for the American public, further specifics remain scarce.

Be sure to check your email: Amazon is distributing payments as part of a $2.5 billion settlement related to Prime subscriptions.

“Look, we can’t afford it. I wish we were in a position to return the American public their money, but we’re not,” Johnson, a leading fiscal hawk in the Senate, told Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo. He, like Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Republican Policy Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), suggested instead that tariff revenue go toward paying down the national debt, which has ballooned to $38 trillion.

Other GOP senators have expressed concerns that Trump’s $2,000 rebate proposal could even add too much to the nation’s debt, The Hill reported.

How much could Trump’s proposal cost?

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a nonpartisan budget watchdog group, previously said that the U.S. tariff revenue would have to total about $600 billion in order to provide $2,000 dividends following the guidelines used for COVID-era stimulus checks.

If an income limit of $100,000 a year was imposed, as has been suggested, the necessary tariff revenue to supply the $2,000 dividends would be far less, according to the Yale Budget Lab. Its analysis found that sending one-time rebates to qualifying Americans would still cost $450 billion.

At the same income threshold, Alex Durante, a senior economist at the Tax Foundation, said last week that dividend checks would cost at least $300 billion.

As of September, about $195 billion had been collected from tariffs imposed by Trump.

When could $2,000 tariff revenue checks be sent out?

Despite concerns about the costs of the rebates and questions about how tariff revenue should be used, Trump last week said tariff dividends could be sent out next year, and revenue would still be used to pay down the federal deficit.

“It’ll be next year sometime,” Trump told reporters when asked when the dividends would be available. “Everybody but the rich will get this,” he added.

Payments would require action from Congress. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said last week that the Senate should “take a look” at legislation providing $2,000 tariff checks to Americans.

While that isn’t available yet, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced legislation this summer that would send out tariff-funded payments much like the COVID-era stimulus checks.

Under Hawley’s bill, each adult would receive “at least $600,” as would each dependent child. That means a family of four could receive $2,400. Payments could increase “if tariff revenue exceeds current projections for 2025.” The bill’s text says rebates would be reduced based on a taxpayer’s filing status and their adjusted gross income.

Using DOGE savings to send out payments is also “back on the table,” Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said earlier this month.