By Suzanne BlakeShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA Republican senator has warned that the tariff checks proposed by President Donald Trump would be too financially burdensome for the country to take on.
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson said the country “can’t afford” the $2,000 tariff dividends.
“Look, we can’t afford it. I wish we were in a position to return the American public their money, but we’re not,” Johnson told Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo.
...Why It Matters
As tariffs have raised prices for everyday Americans, the $2,000 tariff checks could be a welcome relief for many low- and moderate-income Americans struggling with inflation.
While Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have been in talks over the dividends courtesy of tariff revenue, Congressional approval would be needed to get fully finalize the rebates.
What To Know
Johnson said that the U.S. is facing a $2 trillion deficit this year and cannot stand to send out the tariff rebates, even with the added revenue from the tariffs themselves.
“Look, we can’t afford it. I wish we were in a position to return the American public their money, but we’re not,” Johnson told Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo.
“President Trump had deficits about $800 billion. Obama, in his last four years, $550 billion a year. Now we’re $2 trillion? Completely unacceptable. We have to start focusing on that and doing something about it,” Johnson added.
While the Trump administration has collected more than $220 billion in tariff revenue, according to the Treasury Department, it’s predicted that $2,000 stimulus checks would cost the U.S. roughly $326 billion. This is based on a CNN estimate.
Trump originally proposed the idea in August.
“We’re taking in so much money that we may very well make a dividend to the people of America,” he said at the time.
What People Are Saying
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS! A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News: “You know, it could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda. You know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility of auto loans.”
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “There should be no surprise by these comments as they reflect a growing sentiment on both sides of the political aisle for tackling the ballooning national debt. Assuming the tariffs hold legally, the additional revenue could go some way to filling in the growing deficit the federal government has to contend with each year.”
What Happens Next
While taxpayers would benefit from the proposed $2,000 tariffs in the short run, Beene warned that the overall impact would be negative for the U.S. debt level.
"Diverting that revenue into checks for some taxpayers may sound good in the short term, but it could add to continuing budgetary strain in the long term," Beene said.
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