Is Trump's $5,000 'dividend' legal and how would it work?

President Donald Trump proposed a $5,000 Trump dividend for U.S. adults if Republicans keep control of the House and Senate in the November 3 midterm elections. The plan would cover about 240 million adult U.S. citizens and cost roughly $1.2 trillion. Trump said the money could come from tariff revenue, but current receipts fall far short. The proposal would need congressional approval and could face budget and inflation concerns.

Trump said the checks would go to all adult U.S. citizens, which the article says is about 240 million people.

The total cost of the proposal would be $1.2 trillion.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated tariff revenue at $167 billion so far in the fiscal year ending September 30, which is not enough to fund the plan.

CBO projected the government will spend $2.1 trillion more than it collects in the current fiscal year.

Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields ticked up to 4.91 percent on Thursday as investors assessed the proposal.

Published Sep 11, 2026 2:48 am KST

President Donald Trump speaks during the RNC Midterm Convention, Wednesday, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. AP-Yonhap

President Donald Trump on Wednesday proposed a $5,000 "Trump dividend" payment to U.S. adults if his Republicans retain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the November 3 midterm elections.

Here is what we know about Trump's pledge:

Who would get the money and where would it come from?

Trump said the checks would go to all adult U.S. citizens -- about 240 million people, according to the U.S. Census. That would cost a total of $1.2 trillion.

Vice President JD Vance suggested on Fox News after Trump's speech that the U.S. government could draw on tariff revenue, which has been juiced by Trump's trade wars. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the government has taken in $167 billion so far in the fiscal year that ends September 30 -- not nearly enough to cover the cost of Trump's proposed giveaway.

The payments would instead widen the government's budget gap, which is already at a level that alarms budget watchdogs.

CBO estimates the government will spend $2.1 trillion more than it collects in revenue in the current fiscal year and projects that figure will grow in the years to come as the population ages.

Would the payments be legal?

Candidates regularly promise benefits in return for votes.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump promised tax breaks for seniors, tipped workers and other targeted groups — and delivered them in his "One Big Beautiful Bill" the following year.

Democratic candidates, including President-elect Joe Biden, promised a third round of COVID-19 relief checks in a Georgia special election in 2021 and delivered when they won control of Congress.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a comparable promise is legal. In a unanimous 1982 decision, the high court overturned a lower-court ruling that had invalidated the election of a Kentucky official who had promised to save taxpayer money by lowering county commissioners' salaries.

Elon Musk, the world's richest person, offered voters a chance to win $1 million in 2024 if they signed a petition to support the Constitution. That drew legal challenges, still unresolved, from voters who said they had no real chance to win because Musk was seeking people to support his political action committee, which backed Republican candidates.

It would be difficult to challenge Trump's dividend in court, as voters might have trouble showing that they had been directly harmed.

Would this have to pass Congress?

Yes. Congress has authority over spending under the U.S. Constitution.

Trump's Republicans control both the House and the Senate by narrow margins, and several members of his party have already reacted favorably to the idea.

Democrats would be sure to oppose any legislation and could block passage in the Senate, where a supermajority of 60 votes is needed to advance most legislation.

Republicans could invoke a complex budget process to bypass Democrats and approve the bill along party lines. They have successfully used this approach twice since Trump's January 2025 return to office, but have struggled to advance a third such package.

They have little time to act before the November 3 elections, as the House is scheduled to be in session for only one week before then. Congress could also try to act in a "lame-duck" session after the election.

Has the U.S. govnerment given money directly to citizens before?

Yes. Congress approved three separate direct payments in March 2020, December 2020 and March 2021 as part of sweeping relief packages to help people weather the economic disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic. Those payments — up to $1,200, $600 and $1,400 per adult, respectively — were phased out for higher-income people. That amounted to 476 million payments totaling $814 billion, according to a congressional oversight committee. Investigators found numerous logistical problems, including fraud and $1.4 billion sent to dead people.

How would this affect the economy and financial markets?

Economic studies have shown that the pandemic-era stimulus checks contributed to the subsequent rise in inflation by substantially boosting consumer demand.

Those payments also boosted the stock market, with a measurable spike in retail trading volumes following each wave of stimulus deposits.

But Trump's proposed dividend could upend bond markets if the government funded it through borrowing. The massive influx of new Treasury debt, combined with revived inflation fears, could drive bond prices sharply lower and send yields soaring.

That could push government borrowing costs higher, further pressuring the U.S. budget at a time when interest payments already exceed military spending.

Yields on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds ticked up to 4.91 percent on Thursday as investors assessed Trump's proposal.

Has Trump made similar promises in the past?

Trump promised a similar $2,000 dividend in November 2025 tied to tariff revenue and said it would not apply to wealthy people, though no follow-up action was taken.

Trump successfully sent a one-time "warrior dividend" payment of $1,776 to roughly 1.45 million military members in December 2025, drawing on money already approved by Congress.

On Thursday, Trump's White House said nearly 1 million Americans will get $500 payments to account for what it describes as excess fees charged for Affordable Care Act health insurance.

如果共和党在11月3日的中期选举中继续掌控众议院和参议院，唐纳德·特朗普总统提议向美国成年人发放5000美元的“特朗普红利”。该计划将覆盖约2.4亿美国成年公民，耗资约1.2万亿美元。特朗普表示，这笔资金可能来自关税收入，但目前的关税收入远远不够。该提案需要国会批准，并可能面临预算和通胀方面的担忧。

特朗普表示，支票将发放给所有成年美国公民，文章称这大约有 2.4 亿人。

该提案的总成本将达到 1.2 万亿美元。

国会预算办公室估计，截至9月30日的本财年，关税收入为1670亿美元，这不足以资助该计划。

美国国会预算办公室预测，本财政年度政府支出将比收入多出 2.1 万亿美元。

周四，由于投资者评估该提案，基准 10 年期美国国债收益率小幅上升至 4.91%。

发布于2026年9月11日凌晨2:48（韩国标准时间）

周三，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在达拉斯美国航空中心举行的共和党全国代表大会中期选举大会上发表讲话。美联社-韩联社

周三，唐纳德·特朗普总统提议，如果共和党在11月3日的中期选举中继续控制众议院和参议院，将向美国成年人支付5000美元的“特朗普红利”。

以下是我们对特朗普承诺的了解：

谁将获得这笔钱？这笔钱从哪里来？

特朗普表示，支票将发放给所有美国成年公民——根据美国人口普查局的数据，约有2.4亿人。这将耗资1.2万亿美元。

在特朗普发表讲话后，副总统万斯在福克斯新闻上暗示，美国政府可以动用关税收入，而特朗普发起的贸易战已经大幅增加了关税收入。国会预算办公室估计，在截至9月30日的本财年，政府迄今为止已获得1670亿美元的关税收入——这远远不足以支付特朗普提议的“赠予”计划的成本。

这些款项反而会扩大政府的预算缺口，而目前的预算缺口已经引起了预算监督机构的警觉。

美国国会预算办公室估计，本财政年度政府支出将比收入多出 2.1 万亿美元，并预测随着人口老龄化，未来几年这一数字还会增长。

这些付款方式合法吗？

候选人经常承诺以好处换取选票。

在 2024 年总统竞选期间，特朗普承诺为老年人、小费工人和其他特定群体减税——并在第二年通过他的“一项伟大的法案”兑现了这些承诺。

包括当选总统乔·拜登在内的民主党候选人在 2021 年佐治亚州特别选举中承诺发放第三轮新冠疫情救济支票，并在赢得国会控制权后兑现了承诺。

美国最高法院裁定，类似的承诺是合法的。在1982年的一项一致裁决中，最高法院推翻了下级法院的一项裁决，该裁决曾宣布肯塔基州一名官员的当选无效，该官员承诺通过降低县政委员的薪水来节省纳税人的钱。

世界首富埃隆·马斯克曾提出，如果选民签署一份支持宪法的请愿书，就有机会在2024年赢得100万美元。此举引发了选民的法律挑战，至今仍未解决。选民们认为，他们根本没有获胜的希望，因为马斯克此举是为了争取支持他的政治行动委员会，而该委员会支持的是共和党候选人。

在法庭上挑战特朗普的分红政策会很困难，因为选民可能难以证明自己受到了直接损害。

这项提案需要国会通过吗？

是的。根据美国宪法，国会拥有支出权。

特朗普的共和党以微弱优势控制着众议院和参议院，他的党内几位成员已经对这个想法表示赞同。

民主党人肯定会反对任何相关立法，并可能阻止其在参议院获得通过，因为大多数立法都需要参议院 60 票的绝对多数才能通过。

共和党人可能会启动一套复杂的预算程序，绕过民主党人，按党派路线通过法案。自特朗普2025年1月重返白宫以来，他们已经两次成功运用这种手段，但第三次推进类似方案却举步维艰。

由于众议院计划在11月3日大选前仅召开一周的会期，因此他们留给他们的行动时间已经不多了。国会也可能在大选后的“跛脚鸭”会期内尝试采取行动。

美国政府以前直接向公民发放过资金吗？

是的。作为旨在帮助民众应对新冠疫情经济冲击的全面救助计划的一部分，国会分别于2020年3月、2020年12月和2021年3月批准了三笔直接支付款项。这些款项——每位成年人最高可达1200美元、600美元和1400美元——对高收入人群的补贴逐步减少。据国会监督委员会称，这些款项共计发放了4.76亿笔，总额达8140亿美元。调查人员发现其中存在诸多后勤问题，包括欺诈行为以及向已故人士发放了14亿美元。

这将对经济和金融市场产生怎样的影响？

经济研究表明，疫情期间发放的刺激支票大幅提振了消费需求，从而导致了随后的通货膨胀上升。

这些款项也提振了股市，每一波刺激性存款发放后，零售交易量都出现了明显的激增。

但如果特朗普提议的分红是通过政府借贷来筹集资金，则可能会颠覆债券市场。大量新增国债涌入，加上通胀担忧重燃，可能导致债券价格大幅下跌，收益率飙升。

这可能会推高政府借贷成本，进一步给美国预算带来压力，而此时利息支出已经超过了军费开支。

周四，由于投资者评估特朗普的提议，基准10年期美国国债收益率小幅上升至4.91%。

特朗普过去是否做出过类似的承诺？

特朗普承诺在 2025 年 11 月发放与关税收入挂钩的 2000 美元分红，并表示这不会适用于富人，但之后并未采取任何行动。

特朗普成功地在 2025 年 12 月向大约 145 万名军人发放了一次性“战士红利”1776 美元，这笔钱来自国会已经批准的资金。

周四，特朗普的白宫表示，近 100 万美国人将获得 500 美元的补贴，以弥补其所称的《平价医疗法案》医疗保险收取的超额费用。