Maryland's congressional delegation is skeptical in their reaction to President Donald Trump's proposal to send $5,000 to every American adult if his Republican Party maintains control of the House and Senate in the Nov. 3 midterm election.
Trump made the unusual pitch at the party's first midterm convention in Dallas last week, promising a "Trump Dividend" if Republicans maintain control of Congress. The president later told CBS News Texas that he did not think Congress would need to authorize the payments, though he did not specify how he could spend more than $1 trillion without lawmakers' authorization.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) called the proposal "a creative idea" but said it would likely need congressional approval, something he would fight to move through Congress, despite a thin Republican margin. Johnson appeared on both CNN's "State of the Union" and NBC's "Meet the Press."
The president told reporters outside Air Force One on Sunday that "the 5,000's going to happen, 100%," but then denied his pitch was an attempt to turn out the Republican vote. Instead, he described the payments as a "reward" for citizens who endured Joe Biden's presidency.
"It's almost a reward for the people having to put up with Biden's policy," he said.
Trump said, though, that the dividends would not be sent while Republicans have control of Congress.
"I don't want to do it now, because if the Democrats get it, our country will be in shambles and they won't be able to do it," he said. "If we get in, we're taking in tremendous amounts of money. We're taking in over $20 trillion in terms of investment. And with the Democrats, all of that money will be thrown out. If the Democrats get in, they won't be able to pay it."
Trump's $5,000 dividend promise is running into roadblocks within his own party.
"We should probably take half of those savings, apply half to the deficit, and then send the other half to citizens as a dividend check," Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, who heads the House Freedom Caucus, told National Review.
However, he was skeptical that every voter would actually see a $5,000 check coming their way.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins called the plan "extraordinarily costly," while GOP lawmakers, including Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, and David Schweikert of Arizona warned it could deepen the national debt, worsen inflation or harm working Americans.
Democrats have been blunter, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accusing Trump of trying to bribe voters and others dismissing the promised checks as an election-year stunt unlikely to materialize.
In Maryland, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen blasted Trump as "a true con man" who "will say anything to get you to take a bad deal."
"Trump promised to lower prices on day 1 & keep us out of war. Since then, he's launched an illegal war & called the affordability crisis a 'hoax,'" Hollen said in a social media post.
U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey, who represents Maryland's 4th District, largely echoed Hollen's take, saying the president was sinking to a "new low" with the new dividend calls.
"The American people are not for sale," Ivey said in a post. "Stop with the broken promises and lies."
A few of Trump's allies embraced the idea, including Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, who said he would prepare legislation for the payments. Michigan Rep. Tim Walberg, the Republican chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, called it good economic policy.
"If it can be done, the American taxpayer deserves the benefit of having more in their pocket than the government," Walberg said ahead of a brief session in the Capitol on Thursday.
Economists estimate the dubious election-year gambit to send the nation's 270 million adults a $5,000 dividend would cost about $1.3 trillion, further straining the country's nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and exacerbating concerns of inflation and high gas prices because of the war with Iran
With the national debt above $40 trillion and an annual deficit near $1.8 trillion, Treasury data shows fiscal year 2026 interest expenses will reach ~$1.27 trillion—roughly matching the cost of Trump's proposal.
Trump told reporters Sunday the economy is strong enough to absorb the costs. "We can easily handle that because we're taking in so much money," he said. "We've never done better."
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said President Donald Trump's proposed $5,000 dividend checks would be financed with money earned by the federal government rather than taxes or deficit spending.
"It's not tax money," Lutnick told NBC News, saying the administration could generate the money through other sources. He pointed to the planned Trump Platinum Card program, under which wealthy foreigners would pay $5 million for extended U.S. visas. Lutnick said more than 100,000 prospective applicants are on a waiting list, potentially generating $500 billion.
Lutnick also cited the government's investment in Intel, saying rising share prices had produced about $50 billion in gains. Those gains remain on paper because the stock has not been sold, and much of the original investment came from money appropriated by Congress under the CHIPS Act.
Neither source would cover the full cost of the dividend, estimated at roughly $1.2 trillion to $1.3 trillion. Other administration officials have floated tariff revenue or congressional legislation as possible funding sources, but no financing plan has been finalized.
Critics accused Trump of trying to buy votes at a time when Republicans are trying to maintain slim majorities in Congress.
"I don't know about you all, but frankly I'm insulted by the notion that my vote this November could be bought for 5k," Kentucky's Massie, who is one of Trump's least favorite lawmakers, wrote on social media. "Not to mention the inflation this would cause."
The pledge may raise ethical and political questions, but it is unlikely that federal anti-bribery laws would not apply without a direct exchange of money, according to Austin Sarat, a professor of law and political science at Amherst College.
Federal law prohibits offering money for someone's vote and promising a government benefit in exchange for political activity or support. Trump, however, offered the payment publicly to all adult citizens rather than to particular people in exchange for voting Republican, Sarat wrote for The Conversation.
That distinction is supported by the Supreme Court's 1982 ruling in Brown v. Hartlage. The court held that candidates may publicly promise benefits to taxpayers or the general public, distinguishing such campaign pledges from private agreements to buy individual votes.
This isn't the first time Trump has made promises to Americans to put cash in their wallets.
Last year, Trump promised Americans a $5,000 DOGE dividend that never materialized and was ultimately scrapped. DOGE itself, the Department of Government Efficiency, was a Trump initiative that was shut down and reportedly wasted billions of dollars.
He also floated the idea of providing every American with a $2,000 tariff dividend in the past, a check millions of Americans are still waiting on.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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