United States President Donald Trump has promised to pay a $5,000 federal “dividend” to every adult American if the Republican Party retains control of both chambers of Congress in the November midterm elections.
Trump made the pledge on Wednesday at the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, where he urged voters to support Republican candidates and help the party maintain its congressional majorities.
According to reports, Trump told supporters that if Republicans win both the House of Representatives and the Senate, his administration would provide $5,000 to every adult citizen in the United States.
“If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them,” Trump said, he would issue the payment “to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.”
Trump described the proposed payment as a “dividend,” but did not provide details on how the programme would be financed, approved or administered.
He also said the money would have to be spent within the United States.
“The only caveat I have is that the dividend that we’re making must be spent in the United States of America,” Trump said.
Proposal Could Cost More Than $1 Trillion
The proposed payment would represent an enormous federal expenditure.
Estimates suggest that distributing $5,000 to approximately 270 million American adults could cost around $1.35 trillion. Questions have therefore emerged over the source of the funds and the legal and administrative framework that would be required to implement such a programme.
Vice President JD Vance reportedly suggested that higher-income Americans could potentially be excluded from the payments, although Trump did not provide a detailed eligibility framework in his announcement.
The proposal also appears to revive an earlier Trump-era idea of providing direct payments to Americans.
In 2025, Trump considered a possible “DOGE dividend” funded by savings from the Department of Government Efficiency, following a proposal by Elon Musk for taxpayers to receive $5,000 refund cheques. That proposal, however, did not result in a nationwide $5,000 payment.
Trump Makes Midterms Personal
The pledge comes as Republicans prepare for the November 3 midterm elections, in which all seats in the House of Representatives and roughly one-third of the Senate seats are being contested.
Although Trump himself is not on the ballot, he has sought to make the election a referendum on his presidency and the Republican administration.
Addressing supporters, Trump urged them to vote as though he were personally running for office.
“So I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot. I’m on the ballot. I’m on the ballot,” he said.
The president’s latest promise is therefore an election pledge rather than an existing federal payment programme. Any $5,000 dividend would require congressional, legal and administrative mechanisms to determine its funding, eligibility and distribution.
The proposal comes amid political pressure on Republicans, with concerns over economic conditions, voter dissatisfaction and the administration’s handling of the war in Iran potentially affecting Republican candidates in the midterm elections.
If implemented, the proposed payment would rank among the largest direct federal cash-transfer programmes in US history.
