By Bo Erickson, Chuck Mikolajczak and Padraic Halpin
NEW YORK/DOONBEG, Ireland, Sept 13 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Sunday the United States can afford his promise to send $5,000 to every U.S. adult should his Republican Party keep control of Congress in this year's elections.
"I don't know but it's easy if the Republicans win. $5,000 to all adults in the country and we can easily handle that because we're taking in so much money," Trump told reporters when asked if Congress would need
to approve the payments, adding that trillions of dollars were coming into the country.
Trump unveiled the idea of $5,000 payouts during a speech at the Republican Party convention last week. Speaking to reporters on Sunday in Ireland, where he was attending a golf tournament at his club in Doonbeg, the president said the U.S. government has the funds to pay for it.
But any such payment would need to be approved by Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said on Sunday. "Of course, the devil's in the details. We have to figure all that out," Johnson told CNN's "State of the Union."
Democratic politicians on Sunday morning talk shows panned the idea, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries telling ABC's "This Week" that it is not a "serious proposal."
U.S. Senator Mallory McMorrow, citing the elimination of some Affordable Care Act subsidies, cast doubt on whether the promised $5,000 checks would be sent even if Republicans retain control of Congress.
"There was an ACA subsidy cancellation," McMorrow, a Michigan Democrat, said on CNN. "I think it was $1,000 we were supposed to get. So if you believe that you're going to get $5,000, I've got a bridge to sell you."
U.S. Representative Mike Lawler, a New York Republican in a closely contested race, would not specifically commit to Trump’s $5,000 dividend proposal on Sunday.
“I support putting money back in the pockets of hardworking Americans,” he said on ABC’s “This Week,” citing tax cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill that Republicans passed last year.
“But whether you call it a stimulus check or a dividend, the question is, how do you pay for it? That's my focus. We have a $4 trillion debt, and we have to be serious about tackling that.”
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the consumer watchdog Public Citizen, earlier called the move an attempt to buy votes.
"This explicit and desperate attempt to buy votes in the November election is a new low. Trump knows he can’t do this, and yet he’s attempting to bribe voters with the false promise of cash to help his party win an election, which is antithetical to every principle of American democracy."
(Reporting by Bo Erickson in Doonbeg, Chuck Mikolajczak and Joseph Ax in New York; Additional writing by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Sergio Non and Aurora Ellis)
