Trump’s $5,000 checks get chilly Senate GOP reception
Por Hans Nichols — Axios
Data: OMB; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals
Senate Republicans are doubtful — and, in some cases, dismissive — of President Trump’s proposal to give Americans $5,000 checks if Republicans keep control of Congress.
Why it matters: Trump’s proposal isn’t dead on arrival. But Republicans aren’t exactly lining up behind it either.
- “I am withholding judgment on the bill until I see their list of pay-fors,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said. “I don’t support going and borrowing $1.2 trillion to be able to write the checks.”
- “I would need to see details on it,” Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) said.
- Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said he wasn’t sure about the mechanics of the proposal but that he’s “also worrying about $40 trillion in debt.”
“You know, there’s no specific proposal out there,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said. “And obviously, however that were to come together, Congress would have a big role in determining.”
Zoom in: There are two massive unknowns about the “Trump Dividend” that the president promised in Dallas last week: eligibility and price tag.
- Vice President Vance has suggested that wealthy Americans wouldn’t receive the payment.
- If every “every adult citizen in the United States” were eligible, as Trump suggested, it could cost some $1.3 trillion.
- That would be more than three times what the U.S. collects annually from tariffs and other customs duties and fees.
The intrigue: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who frequently defers to Trump, said Sunday that Congress would have to approve the payments.
- Asked in NBC’s “Meet the Press” if he’d commit that the checks will be sent, Johnson said, “I commit that Congress will work through it and find consensus on that like they have to do everything else.”
- Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) told Axios: “Well, if it happens, I’m recommending to people that they put it away in order to pay for the additional inflation. We will see.”
— Axios’ Kate Santaliz contributed reporting for this story.
Fonte: Axios
