President Donald Trump remains “committed” to sending every American a $2,000 dividend check to be distributed with tariff revenues, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.
White House officials are exploring ways to execute the plan laid out by Trump in a social media post over the weekend, Leavitt added, but did not provide details on specific options.
“The president made it clear that he wants this to happen,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House. “That’s why his team of economic advisors is investigating the matter.”
The White House’s firm stance comes days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared to cast doubt on Trump’s proposal, saying the payment could simply refer to tax savings enshrined by Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill legislation.
A tariff dividend can come “in many forms,” Bessent told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, adding that he had not spoken to Trump about the proposal.
“It could just be the tax cuts we’re seeing on the president’s agenda. No tip tax, no overtime tax, no Social Security tax, no auto loan deductibility. Those are substantial deductions that are being funded by the tax bill,” Bessent added.
Some economists have questioned whether the dividend can be achieved with the tariff funds available.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks to reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Trump announced the policy proposal in a brief social media message Sunday morning, focusing on tax revenue related to the tariffs.
“People who are against tariffs are FOOLISH! We are now the richest and most respected country in the world, with almost no inflation and a record price in the stock market. 401k plans are the highest in history,” the president wrote. “Everyone will be paid a dividend of at least $2,000 per person (not including high-income earners!).
The message did not specify who would qualify for the payment or how the policy would work. Two pandemic-era stimulus checks authorized by Trump were made available to individuals earning up to $75,000 a year and couples earning up to $150,000. Beyond those benchmarks, people with higher incomes were eligible for smaller payments.
If Trump made dividend payments available to anyone earning $100,000 or less, the policy would reach about 150 million Americans, representing roughly $300 billion in dividends, Erica York, a policy expert at the Tax Foundation, said in a mail in X.
As of Sept. 30, the federal government had generated $195 billion in tariff-related revenue, according to the Treasury Department.
By those calculations, the estimated $300 billion cost of the dividend check proposal would far exceed the amount of tariff revenue currently available.
In theory, however, the Trump administration could promise to pay the dividend from the expected tariff revenues.
The Treasury Department has forecast $3 trillion in tariff revenue over the next decade. If the Trump administration chooses that route, the dividend payments would add to the federal debt, which currently stands at more than $38 trillion, according to the Treasury Department.
