Fact Check: Can Trump give Americans $5,000 without approval from Congress?
DALLAS, TEXAS: President Donald Trump has proposed giving every adult American a $5,000 “Trump Dividend” if Republicans win control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.
The proposal has sparked questions about how the payments would be funded and whether the president has the authority to issue them. The speculation gained further attention after Trump said he could give Americans the $5,000 payment without congressional approval. Can Trump actually give $5,000?
Claim: Trump could give Americans $5K without approval from Congress
.@POTUS announces the TRUMP DIVIDEND: If Republicans win both the House and the Senate, because of our tremendous economic success, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States for $5,000 pic.twitter.com/s4orJJGx9d
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 10, 2026
Trump first announced the proposed payments during the opening day of the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas on September 9. He said, "Here is 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 defended his proposed $5,000 “Trump dividends” for US adults during a September 10 interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
Ingraham asked Trump whether he had discussed the proposed payments with House Speaker Mike Johnson or Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Trump said he speaks with both lawmakers and claimed that he can give the money without congressional approval.
Ingraham: Have you talked to speaker Johnson or Thune about this $5,000 rebate or dividend?
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 10, 2026
Trump: I do speak to them. We can do it. A lot of people think I don't even need congressional approval because we have made so much money. On Intel, I said I want 10% of the company.… pic.twitter.com/VpyVjbWIBO
He said, "I do speak to them. We can do it. There are... a lot of people think I don't even need congressional approval because we've made so much money. We're making money, even like TikTok. We got a fee, I got a fee for our country, $10 billion. In Intel, I made... I didn't buy, I said, if I'm going to help you, meaning if the country's going to help you, I want 10 percent of the company."
Trump rejected that description and defended the plan as a business-focused idea. He said, "It's real entrepreneurship. That's really what it is. You know, I see that. Oh, some people say, 'That's communism.' It's not communism. It's actually good entrepreneurship,” he said.
Fact Check: Can Trump actually give $5000?
The claims are false. Trump cannot issue the proposed $5,000 payment without approval from Congress.
The video’s context also makes clear that the president does not have the constitutional or statutory authority to issue a dividend check on behalf of the US government. Only Congress can authorize and appropriate the funds.
While defending his plan to give $5,000 to each adult, Trump did not provide a detailed explanation of the legal authority he would use to issue the payments without congressional approval.
Trump also explained why he would make the proposed payments conditional on a Republican victory instead of distributing them immediately.
He said, "I’ll tell you what, because the Democrats can't do it. Because with them it's negative growth. With us it's so positive. So we're taking in $21 trillion. Nobody, no country's ever taken in anywhere near that. It's four or five times higher than the next one. All because of that beautiful word that you and I love more than most others: tariffs."
The proposed program could cost more than $1 trillion if all eligible adult US citizens received the payment. Estimates based on 2024 Census data put the number of adult US citizens at roughly 245.3 million. At $5,000 per person, the total cost would exceed $1.2 trillion.
