Truthout is a vital news source and a living history of political struggle. If you think our work is valuable, support us with a donation of any size.
On Wednesday, during the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, President Donald Trump promised voters that if they deliver a GOP-controlled Congress in this fall’s races, he will send every adult in the country a $5,000 check – an action that would likely be illegal.
“Here’s my promise: If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them…I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” Trump said.
“So if the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000. It will be called the Trump Dividend,” he added.
While rebate or relief payments to Americans are not unprecedented, they are rare, typically only distributed during periods of economic worry. Most recently, three such payments were sent during the coronavirus pandemic to alleviate the economic fallout of the crisis.
Those payments were significantly smaller — indeed, Trump’s proposal this week would be greater than all three of those payments combined.
Presidents cannot issue these kinds of checks on their own, as the Treasury Department cannot distribute them without congressional approval. A congressional vote in support of the checks is unlikely, even if Republicans retain control of both houses of Congress, given the weeks of debate and other difficulties during the lead-up to those smaller COVID-related payments.
Such payments would likely cost over a trillion dollars, adding to the already increasing national debt. Some economists have suggested that the proposed payments would also increase inflation rates, raising the costs of consumer goods at a time when most Americans view affordability as a major issue.
Beyond feasibility and financial concerns, there’s also the question of whether Trump’s promise is permissible under the law. According to 18 U.S. Code Section 597, it is illegal for a person to make or offer “an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate.” If found guilty, a person in violation of that statute may be imprisoned for up to two years.
52 U.S. Code Section 10307(c) also forbids monetary promises to compel people to vote, stipulating that it’s illegal to pay for or offer to pay a person “for registration to vote or for voting” in federal elections. That law states that a person can be imprisoned for up to five years if they’re found guilty.
Trump’s promise is also expressly forbidden by the U.S. Constitution, as Article II Section 4 of that document describes bribery as an impeachable offense.
It’s unlikely that Trump would follow through on his promise to pay Americans $5,000 to vote Republican. He and members of his administration have made multiple similar promises, including pledging a $5,000 dividend from supposed DOGE savings, a $2,000 “tariff dividend,” and $1,000 checks purportedly derived from expiring ACA subsidies. None of those promises have ever materialized.
As it stands right now, there is a strong likelihood that Democrats will win control of the House of Representatives, with the Senate being in toss-up status. And according to an Economist/YouGov poll published this week, 49 percent of likely voters said they planned to vote for the Democratic candidate in their home district, while only 38 percent said they would support the Republican option.
Media that fights fascism
Truthout is funded almost entirely by readers — that’s why we can speak truth to power and cut against the mainstream narrative. But independent journalists at Truthout face mounting political repression under Trump.
We rely on your support to survive McCarthyist censorship. Please make a tax-deductible one-time or monthly donation.