The White House said it would support President Donald Trump's idea of giving $2,000 tariff dividend checks to Americans.
The Republican leader originally floated the idea on his Truth Social platform on Nov. 9, when he said that revenue from tariffs would make these dividend checks possible. At the time, he said that while there were many who were against the tariffs, they would help give financial assistance to Americans.
Potential $2,000 Tariff Dividend Checks
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated the president's interest in the idea. She said that the White House is committed to making the proposal real, adding that they are now exploring all legal options to make it come true.
Leavitt noted that while they do not currently have a timeline for the possible checks, she made it clear that President Trump wants to make it happen. She also said that the Republican's team of Economic Advisors is already looking into it and will provide an update once they have one, according to USA Today.
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The $2,000 tariff dividend checks proposal is not the first time Trump has suggested giving money to Americans. In February earlier this year, he said that he was considering sending taxpayers stimulus checks from expected savings collected by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This was a result of the agency's cost-cutting efforts.
That proposal came from Azoria Investment Firm CEO James Fishback, who previously lobbied for the Tesla CEO to issue a stimulus check based on the claimed savings. However, the checks, which would have required the approval of Congress, never materialized and were never issued to the American people.
Giving Money to Americans
On the other hand, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that he had not yet had the chance to talk to the president regarding his idea of $2,000 tariff dividend checks. He said that the checks could come in various forms, such as tax decreases, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security, among others, ABC News reported.
Trump also had another idea that raised some eyebrows and sparked controversy among the public: 50-year mortgages. When asked about the idea, the president said that having 50-year mortgages is not a big deal, as it is as simple as going from 30 to 50.
It was later revealed that Trump's Federal Housing Finance Agency director, Bill Pulte, was the one who "talked the president" into floating a 50-year mortgage plan. This was without consulting the Republican leader's "blindsided" policy aides, as per Yahoo News.
