Bessent says Trump's $2,000 tariff checks will require Congressional approval
Photo: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump recently announced that every American could receive at least $2,000 from the tariffs he imposed. However, these payments would require approval from Congress, Bloomberg reports, citing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
"We will see. We need legislation for that," Bessent said on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures.
Trump, who has highlighted the billions collected by the US through tariffs this year, discussed issuing stimulus checks amid rising public concern over the cost of living. On November 14, he told reporters that the payments would be distributed in 2026 "to everybody but the rich."
"It's a lot of money. But we've taken in a lot of money from tariffs. The tariffs allow us to give a dividend... We're also going to be reducing debt," Trump said aboard Air Force One, likely referring to the federal debt.
Bloomberg reports that, according to one estimate, Trump's plan could cost the US government twice as much as the expected revenue in 2025.
"The committee for a responsible federal budget, a centrist watchdog group, estimated a preliminary $600 billion cost for the proposal, if the dividends were designed along the lines of government stimulus payments during the COVID pandemic," Bloomberg wrote.
For the fiscal year ending in September, US net revenue from tariffs totaled $195 billion. Many economists predict the country will collect about $300 billion in tariffs for the full 2025 calendar year.
Bloomberg also highlighted another remark by Bessent. According to him, Americans should feel economic relief at the beginning of next year. He based this forecast on tax reductions included in Trump’s legislation passed earlier this year.
"So I would expect in the first two quarters we are going to see the inflation curve bend down and the real income curve substantially accelerate," Bessent concluded.
Trump promises money
It is worth recalling that Trump first proposed giving money to Americans on Sunday, November 9.
"People who are against tariffs are fools! We are now the richest, most respected country in the world, with almost no inflation, and a record stock market price," he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump claimed that the US is generating trillions in revenue, drawing record-level investments, and seeing factories built across the country. Against this backdrop, he promised to issue at least $2,000 to every US citizen.
