Trump reiterates pledge to send $5,000 checks as election nears

With less than a month until Election Day, President Donald Trump is touting two federal cash payment programs already underway while renewing a much larger $5,000 check promise, contingent on Republicans remaining in Congress.

On Friday, Trump announced a one-time payment of $90 to 20.8 million Medicare beneficiaries. A day later, he reinstated an earlier promise to give $5,000 to every adult U.S. citizen — but only if Republicans retain control of Congress in November.

“If Republicans win the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2026 midterm elections, I will give $5,000 to every adult citizen of the United States of America,” Trump said in a video published Saturday by Truth Social. The president made a similar pledge at the Republican National Committee’s first midterm convention in Dallas last month.

Trump provided no details on who would authorize the payments and where the money would come from.

These claims follow $500 Obamacare “rebate” checks that began going out last week to about 950,000 people who purchased unsubsidized coverage on the federal marketplace.

The $90 payments to some eligible Medicare Part B enrollees are expected to arrive this month, funded by the Medicare Improvement Fund. The $500 Obamacare payments are already being distributed to some HealthCare.gov customers at full price.

A Reuters analysis found that 71% of Obamacare money — $339 million — goes to residents of 13 states where Senate and gubernatorial elections are among the most competitive in the country, although eligibility is based on insurance status, not voting status.

Together, the wave of offers for direct cash payments comes as Republicans head into the home stretch of a midterm campaign dominated by concerns about prices and the economy.

But the $5,000 “Trump dividend” is just a promise and Trump has been extremely light on details, particularly where the money will come from and who should authorize it. Sending $5,000 to every adult citizen would cost about $1.2 trillion and require congressional approval.

Some Republicans have also expressed concerns about its effects on the deficit and inflation.

Rep. David Schweikert, Republican of Arizona, told Reuters last month that he would “put all his heart and soul” into ending the proposal, warning that it could drive up interest rates. And Rep. Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, called the plan a “political bribe” in a Sept. 10 interview with CNN, and said Congress controls federal spending.

The White House and the offices of Reps. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Polls suggest the idea is not a surefire political winner.

A Rasmussen Reports survey found that likely voters were essentially split, 47% to 48%, on the proposition. Only 15% said it would affect their vote. A poll from Marquette Law School in Wisconsin found that 70% of voters opposed the payments, while an Economist/YouGov survey found that 57% of registered voters doubted Trump would actually grant them, even if Republicans retained Congress.

In the past, Trump has made several promises to send cash payments to Americans – and has failed to deliver.

In February 2025, the Trump administration issued a $5,000 “DOGE dividend” check, claiming the money would come from savings from budget cuts enacted by the now-defunct “Department of Government Effectiveness” led by Elon Musk. These payments never materialized.

Then, in November, Trump proposed a reciprocal dividend payment of at least $2,000 per person, financed by tariffs. The Supreme Court overturned the tariffs in February of this year and no checks were ever issued.

The trend of offering cash payments directly to voters dates back to Trump’s first term. Six weeks before the 2020 election, Trump promised 33 million Medicare beneficiaries $200 prescription drug cards “in the coming weeks” — but the cards were never distributed.

Still, the Trump administration distributed a $1,776 “warrior dividend” to about 1.5 million service members last year, and Congress approved pandemic stimulus payments during his first term.