In an interview with One America News Network, President Donald Trump floated the ongoing idea of giving Americans up to $2,000 in rebates stemming from the revenues his tariff agenda has generated.
But before you get too excited, there are still hurdles to cross.
While Trump said he’s still weighing the idea of rebate checks, his proposal to share some of the hundreds of billions of dollars the federal government has collected since he implemented foreign nations with steep levies in April comes as the Supreme Court is slated to hear arguments in a case next month that will decide whether the president has the power to impose such sweeping global tariffs.
“They’re just starting to kick in,” Trump said.
“But ultimately, your tariffs are going to be over a trillion dollars a year.”
Trump described his plan, which he’s floated before, as “a dividend to the people of America.”
“We’re thinking maybe $1,000 to $2,000 — it would be great,” Trump said in regards to the potential size of the checks Americans might get.
This is not the first time that tariff “stimulus” checks have been floated at the federal level.
In late July, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a bill that would provide families with up to $600 per adult and child, or for a family of four, a total of $2,400.
At the time, critics of Hawley’s bill — including many Republicans — believed the revenue should be used to pay down the jaw dropping U.S. debt.
“Shark Tank” personality and Trump advocate Kevin O’Leary said it was a “bad idea” for Congress to consider tariff rebate checks, saying any money raised by higher tariffs should be used to reduce deficits and debt.
“What should be happening now with any extra income is to pay down the national debt,” O’Leary said during a July appearance on CNN’s “NewsNight with Abby Phillip.”
And that’s exactly what Trump plans on doing first — before disbursing any potential checks to American taxpayers.
“Number one, we’re paying down debt,” Trump said, “because people have allowed the debt to go crazy.”
During this week’s interview, Trump argued that the $37 trillion national debt is actually “very little, relatively speaking” because the government is taking in unprecedented sums of money from tariffs.
“With that being said, we’ll pay back debt, but we also might make a distribution to the people,” Trump continued.
According to data from the Treasury Department, the federal government has generated about $214.9 billion in revenues from tariffs this year.
The $31.3 billion in tariff revenue collected in September, however, was $73 million less than the August record.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has repeatedly said he expects the US to generate at least $300 billion in tariff revenue by the end of the year.
In the meantime, don’t expect a check in your mailbox anytime soon.