By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-17 16:15:12 | Updated at 2026-09-17 16:58:15
48 minutes ago
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before the Senate Committee on Appropriations in Washington on June 3, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that he backs the concept of sending Americans $5,000 payments that were announced by President Donald Trump last week in a campaign-style rally.
Trump told an audience in Dallas that if Republicans are able to retain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the $5,000 payments, which he called the “Trump dividend,” would be sent out.
While speaking to House lawmakers on Tuesday, Bessent indicated that the $5,000 proposal had been in the works behind the scenes for “quite a while” before Trump revealed it last week.
“The president’s intent is very real,” Bessent said.
Elaborating, the secretary told the House panel he believes “there are ways to do it that would not affect the deficit,” responding to a line of questioning from Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) on whether the payments would add to it.
“Putting more money in the American people’s pocket should be an objective for everyone,” he also said.
When asked whether he would be working with Congress to get the payments out, Bessent indicated it may not be necessary, saying he would work with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and lawmakers “if Congress is needed.”
The president told CBS News last week that he believes it can be done without an act of Congress. Johnson, the House speaker, later said that Congress would need to get involved.
After Trump made his speech in Dallas, Democrats and some Republicans argued that the payments would increase the national deficit and raise inflation.
Meanwhile, several GOP senators told The Hill website this week that they are unsure how the dividend payment is meant to work.
“I haven’t seen the mechanism and mechanics around how we could get it done,” Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) told the outlet. “I do worry about the $40 trillion in debt that we have, and something like that would add to the national debt.”
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) also questioned whether the payment “should go out at all” and added that Republicans are “trying to figure out what that proposal is”—specifically, what he means by “dividend.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told the outlet that he doesn’t “think it will come to fruition.”
“I don’t think it would be a good idea to basically borrow money to send to the public,” he said.
Trump reiterated his dividend promise during a rally in North Carolina on Wednesday.
“And remember, if the Republicans win the House and Senate ... every adult in America will get $5,000 because we’re taking in so much money,” Trump said, citing tariff revenues brought in by the federal government. “We can do it.”
The move comes after the Trump administration announced it would be sending out $500 rebate payments for people the White House says were overcharged in health insurance marketplaces established under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
“Our administration is doing the right thing and giving the money back to the people who were wrongly ripped off,” Trump said in a statement released through the White House’s X account.
