WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's pledge to give $5,000 to all adult U.S. citizens if Republicans keep control of Congress this November faces a maze of formidable obstacles on Capitol Hill – including from members of his own party.
Regardless of the fact that Trump's other, similar promises haven't materialized – not to mention the legal questions surrounding his latest election-related proposal, which Democrats have chalked up to a "bribe" – there's no clear legislative path forward for approving or reshuffling what would ultimately amount to more than $1 trillion.
Several budget hawks and conservative economists are already balking at the idea – a bad sign when just a few Republicans in either chamber can, until the voting margins change,
tank pretty much any measure.
"Frankly I’m insulted by the notion that my vote this November could be bought for 5k," Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, wrote on X, "not to mention the inflation this would cause." Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, appeared to chime in, too, saying in response to a post defending the proposed dividends that government "dependency is evil & soul-sucking in all its forms."
Trump's sudden announcement presented yet another tricky political test for many congressional Republicans. Historically, many of them have staked hard ideological lines on the notion of prioritizing more responsible federal budgeting. But President Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated less of an interest, at least relative to many of his GOP allies on Capitol Hill, in paying down the national debt – which just this summer reached a historic $40 trillion milestone, alarming economists and politicians alike.
In a Sept. 9 Fox News interview, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, didn't provide much more clarity on any planned next steps for Trump's idea in Congress, which has the ultimate power over federal spending. The president's midterm-year gambit, announced at the GOP's convention this week in Dallas, seemed to catch many Republican leaders by surprise.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Thune said.
Other fiscal conservatives endorsed Trump's idea – but with caveats. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, the powerful chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, the first stop for any major party-line tax and spending bills, said in a statement to USA TODAY that he's "always happy to consider allowing taxpayers to keep more of their hard-earned money."
He stressed, however, that any forthcoming efforts to make good on the president's promise would need to happen with deficit reduction in mind. Johnson recommended that new financial relief should come from savings made via eliminating fraud in the federal government, rather than slashing benefits Americans rely on.
"Eliminating this waste would provide more than adequate pay-fors, NOT by reducing benefits," Johnson said.
Democrats quickly panned Trump's move as illegal. That uniform opposition means the GOP would have no choice but to try to pass a party-line bill, a narrow and specific legislative path, to overcome the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
In a better sign for the president, one of the House's most conservative, deficit-wary members seemed to give his blessing to Trump's plan. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Maryland, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said in a statement to USA TODAY that he would support it. Like Johnson, he suggested a funding mechanism based upon efforts to curb "waste, fraud and abuse in federal programs."
Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's $5K payout plan faces a maze of obstacles among Republicans in Congress
