Deputy White House Chief of Staff James Blair said the administration is eyeing ways to give millions of Americans $2,000 dividend checks from tariff revenue without congressional approval.
Blair said the White House will look “as hard as possible” to see if they can issue dividend checks without Capitol Hill approval, but also expressed skepticism.
“We will look as hard as possible to see if there’s a way to do it without Congress because we’re circumspect about Congress wanting to stop [them],” Blair said at a Bloomberg Government event on Tuesday. “The law is the law. I think that the most likely outcome is, it requires an act of Congress.”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the plan to send out checks sometime next year after the tariff revenue is in, “made sense,” but he’s not sure it will be possible without Congress.
“James Blair and I will have some intense fellowship about that, I’m sure,” Johnson said, adding that he isn’t sure what’s being proposed, “so it’s sort of a hypothetical.”
Blair also added that the checks could be a factor in another reconciliation bill. The top official acknowledged the Supreme Court’s odds of striking down
Blair’s comments follow Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remarks that the checks would “need legislation” and require congressional input.
The administration has made the argument that tariff revenue will likely outweigh any short-term pain Americans may face for increased costs.
Trump has eased some tariffs for Latin American nations for everyday household items such as coffee and bananas.
The White House is touting a new affordability message after Democrats ran a successful campaign on cost-of-living issues in this year’s election.
The proposed checks would go to “the working class,” Blair said, but the White House hasn’t yet unveiled an income threshold on who would receive them.
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story: