Trump Teases $2,000 'Dividend for the People' as Tariffs Rake in Hundreds of Billions

President Donald Trump has sparked nationwide interest by suggesting American families could receive rebate cheques funded by billions in tariff revenue, though the proposal faces significant hurdles in Congress and questions about its economic impact.

Trump is considering sending Americans a 'dividend' of $2,000, an idea he floated in an One America News Network (OANN) interview while touting collections that he claims could reach $1 trillion a year.

Treasury data show that tariff receipts surged in late summer, and the Supreme Court will hear a pivotal case on the legality of the emergency tariffs on November 5, 2025. Any payouts would still need Congress to appropriate the money

Trump's Plans on the Tariff Revenues

Since April of this year, Trump has imposed tariffs on numerous nations. In roughly thirty days, the president must present his case to the Supreme Court for justifying his global tariffs.

In an interview with OANN, he said that his tariffs are ultimately positioned to generate over a trillion dollars annually. Given this amount, it begs the question: What will Trump do with the money?

'Number one, we're paying down debt, because people have allowed the debt to go crazy,' said Trump. He then argued that the country's $37 trillion debt is 'very little, relatively speaking' because the government is taking in unprecedented sums of money from tariffs.

The president argued that the $37 trillion national debt is actually "very little, relatively speaking" because the government is taking in unprecedented sums of money from tariffs.

'With that being said, we'll pay back debt, but we also might make a distribution to the people,' Trump continued. The president went on with his plan to offer 'a dividend to the people of America'.

'We're thinking maybe $1,000 to $2,000 — it would be great,' Trump added, about the size of checks Americans could get. However, any disbursement from the federal government requires congressional approval.

More on Trump's Tariff Revenues

The federal government is expected to gain approximately $214.9 billion in revenues from tariffs in 2025. This data comes from the Treasury Department as reported by Fox Business.

Notably, the tariff revenue collected in September was $31.3 billion. This is $73 million less than what the government was able to collect a month prior.

Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, has repeatedly expressed his expectations that the US will generate at least $300 billion in tariff revenue by the end of the year.

Are the Tariffs Legal?

In August, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that most of Trump's Tariffs were not covered by an emergency powers law. This decision followed the finding of two lower courts that most of the levies imposed on US trading partners weren't legal.

The appeals court, however, allowed Trump's tariffs to remain in place. As mentioned earlier in the article, the Trump administration has a pending appeal due for the Supreme Court's hearing next month.

The justices on the Supreme Court are slated to hear oral arguments in the case during the first week of November. In addition, Bessent warned the justices in a filing that the government might be required to issue a refund.

The refund will cost the government $750 billion to $1 trillion in collected and projected tariff revenue. Of course, this is only if and only if the Supreme Court finds the duties to be illegal.

Even if tariff revenue is robust, no money may leave the Treasury without an appropriation by law. Any 'dividend' would need Congressional approval through the appropriations process. Lawmakers have already introduced bills to assert oversight of new tariffs.