At a Glance
- President Trump drew a blank when asked about his Nov. 9 pledge to send $2,000 tariff rebate checks
- He now says checks could arrive “toward the end of the year” and claims no Congressional approval is needed
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously said the idea had not been discussed
- Why it matters: Millions of Americans are waiting to see if promised relief money will materialize
President Donald Trump appeared to forget his own proposal to send $2,000 rebate checks to most Americans, then told The New York Times the payments could come “toward the end of the year.”
The exchange happened during a Jan. 9 Oval Office interview with White House correspondents Katie Rogers and Tyler Pager. When Rogers asked, “You’ve promised $2,000 checks to Americans based off of your tariff revenues. When can they expect those?”, the president responded, “I did do that? When did I do that?”
Rogers began to remind him, but Trump interjected, “Yeah, I’m thinking. Well, I did $1,776 for the military.” He was referring to the Dec. 18 “Warrior Dividend” for nearly 1.5 million service members, funded through what he calls the Big Beautiful Bill.
Pager pressed for a timeline: “When will those Americans get those checks?”
“Well, I am going to,” Trump answered. “The tariff money is so substantial. That’s coming in, that I’ll be able to do $2,000 sometime. I would say toward the end of the year.”
The Original Promise
Trump floated the rebate idea in a Nov. 9 Truth Social post: “People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!” He claimed the U.S. is taking in “Trillions of Dollars” and vowed to send a tariff “dividend” of “at least $2000 a person (not including high-income people!)”
Key points from that post:
- Checks would go to “everyone” except high earners
- Money would come from tariff revenues
- No specific timeline was given
Price Tag and Pushback
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated the plan would cost roughly $600 billion. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC News on Nov. 12 that he and Trump had not discussed the rebate, and on Nov. 18 he urged Americans to save any payout to avoid inflation.
Supreme Court Cloud
A looming Supreme Court decision could upend the entire tariff program. The justices will soon rule on whether Trump’s tariffs violate the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. If the court says the tariffs are illegal, the administration must refund about $774 billion to affected companies, potentially wiping out the revenue stream Trump plans to use for the checks.
Bessent told Reuters on Jan. 9 that refunds, if ordered, would be spread out over weeks or even a full year.
What Happens Next
Trump insists no Congressional approval is required because “we have it coming in from other sources.” For now, the White House has not released a formal plan or start date for distributing the $2,000 checks, leaving households waiting as tariff revenue-and legal uncertainty-continues to mount.
