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Donald Trump teases stimulus rebate in September: ‘We've got money coming in’
Trump suggests possible rebate checks for American households funded by tariff revenues, sparking legislative action in Congress.
New wave of financial handouts could soon be coming to American households with President Donald Trump dangling to roll out rebate checks funded by tariff revenues. The concept, which was being floated on his campaign trail, already elicited a legislative response in Congress, and gives reason to hope that it might end up feeling like a new wave of stimulus.
On July 25, Trump was asked by a reporter about the possibility of returning tariff revenue to the public. He didn’t hesitate to entertain the thought. “We're thinking about that actually,” he said. “We have so much money coming in, we're thinking about a little rebate. But the big thing we want to do is pay down debt. But we're thinking about a rebate.”
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“That's a very good idea. You just made a lot of news. We're thinking about a rebate because we have so much money coming in from tariffs that a little rebate for people of a certain income level might be very nice.”
Trump is ‘thinking about a rebate’
His campaign later reinforced the message in an email to HindustanTimes.com, saying: “WE’RE THINKING ABOUT A REBATE! friend, We have a lot of money coming in. It's coming in tremendous numbers! There's a concept of making a dividend to the people of this country who have paid a lot of taxes and got nothing for it. There's a possibility.”
“Primarily we want to pay down debt, but there's a possibility that we take a piece of it and make a dividend to the people. We’re thinking about a little rebate, and I know that might be very nice for Americans.”
Notably, within days, Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley introduced the American Worker Rebate Act of 2025. Under the plan, every adult and dependent child would receive a minimum of $600, meaning a family of four could get $2,400.
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The proposal echoes the stimulus checks Americans received during the COVID-19 pandemic, though this time the funding would come directly from tariff revenues.
