The tariffs imposed by the Trump administration can provide enough funding to send out dividend payments as floated earlier this week by President Donald Trump, said National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett on Thursday.
Trump has said he wants to send out a $2,000 dividend sourced from the global tariffs that he imposed starting earlier this year, while saying the duties would also be used to pay off the U.S. national debt.
When asked whether there were any plans to push Congress into passing dividend payment legislation, Hassett said the White House is “actively studying the matter and getting the numbers straight, so the president has all the choices he needs to decide what to do.”
While defending his administration’s tariffs, the president said, “we are taking in Trillions of Dollars and will soon begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT.” He also noted that plants and factories are being set up around the United States.
The Supreme Court is currently considering the legality of some of the Trump administration’s tariffs, namely the ones that were imposed by the president after he declared a national emergency under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Supreme Court Justices heard arguments in the case earlier this month.
Trump said this week that the estimates given to the Supreme Court on tariff revenues were far too low and that required repayments would exceed $2 trillion in tariff revenues and investments.
At least one member of Congress backs a tariff rebate payment. Over the summer, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill to send $600 tariff rebates to most Americans and their families in a manner similar to the stimulus payments that were sent out during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Epoch Times contacted the White House for comment.
