By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he could bypass Congress to send $2,000 tariff rebate checks to some Americans.

This directly contradicts his top economic adviser’s comments last month, making this the first time Trump has proposed issuing tariff-funded checks without congressional approval.

“I don’t think we’d have to go the Congress route, but you know, we’ll find out,” Trump said during a White House news briefing.

The president said he would like to send $2,000 checks to Americans, subject to a “reasonable” income limit, but did not specify a threshold.

“We will be able to make a very substantial dividend to the people of our country and I believe we can do that without Congress,” Trump said.

Trump also said he would use tariff revenue to pay down U.S. debt.

Days before Christmas last month, Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett said the U.S. House and Senate would need to be involved.

“I would expect that in the new year, the president will bring forth a proposal to Congress to make that happen,” Hassett said.

Details about Trump’s tariff rebate plan are limited. He wants to send $2,000 checks to certain Americans and use the remaining tariff revenue to reduce the $38 trillion U.S. debt. The Supreme Court has not decided whether Trump has the authority to impose tariffs.

Trump said the rebates would be for low and middle-income Americans, not the wealthy, but has not specified any income limits. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously suggested the checks could go to those earning less than $100,000 a year, but noted that no decision had been made on income caps.

Three different scenarios analyzed by the Tax Foundation estimate that costs of distributing the checks would range from $279.8 billion to $606.8 billion.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says the math does not add up. If the rebate mimics COVID-19 stimulus payments, the proposed $2,000 dividends would cost about $600 billion, double the tariff revenue expected.

A report from a German think tank released Monday found Americans are paying almost the entire cost of Trump’s tariffs, directly challenging the president’s claim that foreign nations absorb the burden. Nearly all tariff costs fall on American importers and consumers, according to a report from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Trump has made tariffs a key part of his agenda during his second term. In April 2025, Trump imposed import taxes of at least 10% on every U.S. trading partner.

A group of states and small businesses challenged Trump’s tariffs under the 1977 law, winning in two lower courts before the administration appealed to the Supreme Court. The high court agreed to hear the case on an expedited basis. A ruling in the case is expected before June, but could come sooner.