Trump pledges $5K checks if Republicans do well in the midterms. Can he legally do that?

President Trump’s pledge to give $5,000 to every U.S. adult if Republicans keep control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections has raised questions over whether the plan could cross legal lines.  

The president announced the so-called “Trump dividends” on the first night of the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) midterm convention in Dallas this week, suggesting the country’s roughly 270 million adults should share in his administration’s “tremendous economic success.”  

“Very much like a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders,” Trump said, caveating that the money “must be spent” only inside the country.  

It was not immediately clear how the plan would work. The federal government would have to dole out an estimated $1.2 trillion, and doing so would likely require an act of Congress.

“It’s not something that the president can unilaterally do,” said Paul Berman, a professor at George Washington University Law School.

Congress holds appropriating power, meaning the executive branch cannot spend public money on something unless the legislature has specifically set aside funds for that purpose.

That was the case with the $1,776 checks sent to roughly 1.45 million U.S. service members around Christmas last year. Those payments came in the form of a one-time housing supplement that was added to the president’s sweeping tax and spending law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.

And while Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) has said he would introduce legislation to make the midterm dividends a reality, Trump insists he doesn’t need it.  

“I think they will do it if we needed it, but we think not,” Trump told CBS News........

© The Hill