Trump Promises $5,000 Dividend To US Adults If Republicans Retain Control Of Congress

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would issue a $5,000 dividend to every adult in the United States if Republicans retain control of Congress in November’s election.

Speaking at a Republican convention in Dallas, Trump said the payments would be made if Republicans win both chambers of Congress.

“If the Republicans ⁠win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in ‌the ⁠United States of America for $5,000,” Trump said.

“The only ​caveat ​I ⁠have is that the dividend that we’re making ​must be spent ​in ⁠the United States of America,” he added.

The President further added that he did not want recipients

“going to Canada” or “China to Germany” to spend the money.

“If the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000. We’ll call it the Trump Dividend. Congratulations,” he told the crowd.

The proposed payout, which could cost between $1.25 trillion and $1.35 trillion based on roughly 250 million adult US citizens, has not been given a clear funding mechanism by the White House.

Trump also cannot unilaterally authorise the payments, as federal spending requires congressional approval. Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio said after the announcement that he would introduce legislation to implement the proposal “immediately after the November 3rd election.”

‘Openly Bribing People’

Critics quickly accused Trump of attempting to influence voters through the pledge. Sam Stein, managing editor at The Bulwark, wrote on X that Trump was “openly bribing people to vote for Republicans.”

The proposal is not Trump’s first promise of a similar payment. He had previously floated a $2,000 “tariff dividend” that would be funded through tariff revenue. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last year that the idea had not been formalised into a proposal for the Senate.

During the same address, Trump also repeated his claim that the war with Iran would end “immediately” after the midterm elections. He also floated the idea of renaming several US landmarks, including the Strait of Hormuz.