GOP leaders have privately pushed back on similar Trump promises of giving money to Americans in the past year, according to four people granted anonymity to share details of closed-door meetings. Senior Republicans on Capitol Hill were blindsided by Trump\u2019s Wednesday night announcement<\/a> in Dallas, and are trying to manage lawmakers\u2019 and voters\u2019 expectations about a trillion-dollar-plus proposal they cannot deliver.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing that I knew of was that he has this concept of a dividend of all Americans being able to share in the success of America,\u201d House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who appeared supportive of the idea, said in an interview on the sidelines of the party’s midterm convention. \u201cBut last night, no, I was just like you and everybody else when I went, ‘Oh, that’s interesting. Okay.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

NRCC Chair Richard Hudson added in an interview: \u201cFirst, I’d heard of it, so I want to talk to him and get some details before I comment.\u201d Hudson said the idea was \u201cexciting,\u201d but he didn\u2019t indicate the House GOP campaign arm would start touting the idea in ads for battleground candidates.<\/p>\n

As for the chances of the measure passing Congress, Hudson responded: \u201cNot this Congress. Because Democrats in the Senate will never go through with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican leaders, indeed, don\u2019t have the votes to pass such an offer this year, with some in the party questioning the legality of Trump effectively declaring he would pay for votes. GOP fiscal hawks and others also quickly shot it down.<\/p>\n

And some Republicans worry Trump\u2019s last-ditch move steps on their carefully laid messaging about the economic benefits of their major tax cuts package \u2014 benefits which have largely been erased by the Iran war and tariffs, according to five senior Republicans, who were also granted anonymity to speak candidly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems incredibly desperate,\u201d said one of the House Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see zero chance of this happening,\u201d said another House Republican at the convention.<\/p>\n

The scramble to figure out their position \u2014 and how serious Trump is \u2014 comes at a critical final stretch of the midterms and as many voters grow increasingly skeptical of the GOP\u2019s record on the economy.<\/p>\n

Democrats were quick to slam Trump\u2019s announcement as a way to bribe Americans and distract from an unpopular trade agenda and war in the Middle East. And as Republicans gathered in Dallas for their splashy midterm convention, the emerging splits over the dividends were on full display.<\/p>\n

GOP lawmakers have privately noted a clear divide in the messaging around Trump\u2019s promise of $5,000 checks: The White House<\/a> and Trump\u2019s campaign social media accounts<\/a> are wholeheartedly touting<\/a> the idea. GOP House and Senate campaign arms, meanwhile, are not. The NRSC declined to comment on the proposal.<\/p>\n

Vice President JD Vance defended Trump\u2019s offer on Fox News shortly after the president announced it Wednesday night, saying it was intended to boost “the American middle class.” But Vance did not mention the Trump proposal during a closed-door breakfast<\/a> with GOP lawmakers, state party officials and activists from key battleground states on Thursday morning, instead touting a string of GOP economic achievements like Trump\u2019s executive action that aims to lower prescription drug costs and the GOP tax cuts package.<\/p>\n

$\"The$ <\/p>\n

\u201cI think we’re all looking forward to learning more,\u201d said Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) as he left the closed-door breakfast with Vance.<\/p>\n

Asked if he would support Trump\u2019s proposal, Steil repeated, \u201cI think we\u2019re all looking forward to learning more.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Republicans scramble to figure out how to position themselves on the \u201cdividend\u201d pledge, Trump told CBS<\/a> on Thursday he doesn\u2019t think he needs Congress to approve his plan to send out payments.<\/p>\n

Amy Natoce, a spokesperson for Ohio GOP Sen. Jon Husted, who faces a tough battle for reelection this fall, said his team \u201chas reached out to the White House to learn more about the proposal and how it would work.\u201d Natoce noted that \u201cputting money directly back into the pockets of hardworking Ohioans is in line with Jon Husted\u2019s priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some Republicans were willing to more fully embrace the idea.<\/p>\n

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday that it was \u201can incentive for work\u201d \u2014 even though the money will go to all Americans regardless of employment status. Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno pledged to draft up a bill<\/a> on the checks \u201cso that we can get the Trump Dividend passed immediately after the November 3rd election.\u201d Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, who\u2019s facing a surprisingly competitive race, eagerly asked his social media followers<\/a> to \u201ccomment how you will spend your $5,000 Trump Dividend when Republicans win in November.\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"Sen.$ <\/p>\n

Fiscal hawks say they are eager for information. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), who serves on the House Budget Committee, declined to say whether he would support the president’s proposal which could cost more than $1 trillion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to know how they would plan to pay for \u2026 back of envelope \u2026 well over $1 trillion,\u201d Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said in an interview<\/a> Wednesday night shortly after Trump announced the proposal.<\/p>\n

Trump has promised a litany of dividends and checks to Americans in recent years that have never materialized.<\/p>\n

He raised the idea of direct checks to Americans in private meetings with GOP leaders before, often with money he says are from tariffs or the DOGE cuts. It\u2019s an idea that Trump and some close White House advisers have discussed on and off for extended periods of time, particularly during his second term.<\/p>\n

Each time, GOP leaders on Capitol Hill have argued that such an idea wouldn\u2019t have the votes among Republicans given the price tag \u2014 and that it would likely require Congress to codify Trump\u2019s controversial tariffs into law.<\/p>\n

In December, Trump sent a $1,776 check to all members of the military, a move he referred back to while unveiling the dividend plan Wednesday. And he quickly followed up on Thursday with a separate offer to send money<\/a> to Americans: $500 rebate checks to about 1 million Obamacare enrollees in 30 states.<\/p>\n

Democrats immediately pounced on the latest proposal, including several candidates locked in competitive November races.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs this some kind of sick joke? Donald Trump\u2019s policies are costing us more than [$5,000] \u2014 from his illegal war in Iran and his trade wars \u2014 and this dividend is nothing but a lie that wouldn\u2019t even begin to make up for what he\u2019s costing us,\u201d Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said in a statement to Blue Light News.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for El-Sayed\u2019s opponent, Mike Rogers, did not respond to a request for comment on the proposal. He also declined questions from reporters at the Dallas convention Thursday.<\/p>\n

So far Democratic leaders have been dismissive of the idea.<\/p>\n

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the dividends a \u201cbribe\u201d to Americans and said they demonstrate Trump’s weak political position.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump just talks out of who knows what,\u201d he told reporters Thursday in New York City.<\/p>\n

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and House Majority PAC did not indicate that they planned to include the dividends in messaging to voters.<\/p>\n

$\"House$ <\/p>\n

Emmer dismissed the criticism that the checks were a bribe, saying Trump wanted Americans \u201cto share in the success\u201d of the country.<\/p>\n

He acknowledged it\u2019s unlikely the House takes up such a bill before the midterms, given there is no proposal drafted yet and only one week of session scheduled before November, but expressed confidence the GOP could deliver on Trump\u2019s promise after the election.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet the policy guys draft it. Let them debate it. Let them move it through committee,\u201d Emmer said. \u201cYou get it to the whip’s office. We’ll pass it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DALLAS \u2014 Top Republican lawmakers had no idea President Donald Trump was going to promise $5,000 checks to every adult American so long as his party keeps control of Congress. Now, they’re grappling with how to handle the fallout. GOP leaders have privately pushed back on similar Trump promises of giving money to Americans in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27079\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}