Trump Wants To Use Tariff Revenue For $2K Payouts, Leftovers To Pay Down National Debt

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he wants to pay the majority of Americans $2,000 each from U.S. tariff revenue and use the “left over” funds to achieve debt reduction.

Trump argued that there would be enough tariff revenue to send stipends to all Americans — other than high-income earners — and “to SUBSTANTIALLY PAY DOWN NATIONAL DEBT.”

“All money left over from the $2000 payments made to low and middle income USA Citizens, from the massive Tariff Income pouring into our Country from foreign countries, which will be substantial, will be used to SUBSTANTIALLY PAY DOWN NATIONAL DEBT. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The national debt recently surpassed $38 trillion and is on pace to hit $44 trillion by 2029. More than four-fifths of Americans would qualify for Trump’s dividends if his proposal is enacted. As of 2024, 81% of the U.S. population is in the middle- or lower-income classes, according to Gallup.

On Sunday, Trump called anyone who opposes his tariffs “FOOLS” and promised to hand out $2,000 dividends to Americans as the U.S. raked in nearly $2 billion in tariff revenue through the first three quarters of fiscal year 2025, according to the Treasury Department.

“We are now the Richest, Most Respected Country In the World, With Almost No Inflation, and A Record Stock Market Price,” Trump wrote. “401k’s are Highest EVER. We are taking in Trillions of Dollars and will soon begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT, $37 Trillion. Record Investment in the USA, plants and factories going up all over the place. A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that he had not discussed the $2,000 dividend proposal with the president, adding that it “could come in lots of forms and lots of ways.” Trump’s desire to hand out $2,000 checks to Americans would need Congressional approval. Earlier this year, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced legislation to give Americans $600 tariff rebates, or $2,400 for a family of four. Hawley’s bill, however, has not gained any traction in the Republican-controlled Senate.

It’s not the first time Trump has floated the idea of handing out stipends to Americans while also paying down the national debt this term. Earlier this year, Trump suggested that Americans could receive government checks as a result of massive spending cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. In February, SpaceX owner and former Trump adviser Elon Musk discussed handing out $5,000 dividend checks if his goal of $2 trillion in government spending cuts was met. The proposal would allocate 20% of the DOGE savings to dividend checks and another 20% to the national debt. At the time, Trump told reporters he supported the plan, but the idea seems to have lost momentum, and Musk later downgraded his spending-cut goal to $150 billion.

Trump’s promise to hand out tariff revenue to Americans comes at a critical time for his tariff agenda as the Supreme Court weighs whether he has the authority to impose the worldwide tariffs. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Trump’s tariff case last week, with multiple conservative justices appearing skeptical of the president’s authority, The Daily Wire previously reported.

The key questions at issue in the case revolve around the meaning of the phrase “regulate importation” in the law, whether a tariff can be considered a tax, and the tension between the president’s broad authority over foreign policy and Congress’s authority over taxation.  A ruling against Trump’s tariff authority would effectively stop his most important economic and foreign policy agenda in its tracks.

In another post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump pushed back against some of the arguments against his tariffs and argued that the president must be allowed to impose tariffs on foreign countries for national security.

“So, let’s get this straight??? The President of the United States is allowed (and fully approved by Congress!) to stop ALL TRADE with a Foreign Country (Which is far more onerous than a Tariff!), and LICENSE a Foreign Country, but is not allowed to put a simple Tariff on a Foreign Country, even for purposes of NATIONAL SECURITY,” Trump said. “That is NOT what our great Founders had in mind! The whole thing is ridiculous! Other Countries can Tariff us, but we can’t Tariff them??? It is their DREAM!!! Businesses are pouring into the USA ONLY BECAUSE OF TARIFFS. HAS THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT NOT BEEN TOLD THIS??? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???”