President Donald Trump really wants to send you a check. Throughout his second term, Trump has pledged to send Americans money in various ways, including tariff rebate checks and bonuses to select government employees.
- Trump has promised free money to Americans multiple times during his second term.
- That includes bonuses for certain government employees and checks for everyday Americans.
- Here are all of the times he’s proposed giving money to people, and where each idea stands.
Some of that free money is becoming a reality: Congress created “Trump Accounts” as part of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which will provide tax-free federal grants of $1,000 to children born in the next few years.
Others remain elusive, or have fallen by the wayside. Remember the DOGE dividend?
Trump also sent out checks during his first term, but under much different circumstances. As part of two successive COVID-era stimulus bills, the federal government sent Americans $1,200 in the spring of 2020 and $600 in the winter, shortly before the president left office.
In February, investor James Fishback floated the idea of sending $5,000 “DOGE Dividend” checks to almost 80 million taxpaying American households.
Those checks would be paid for by spending cuts achieved by DOGE, the government efficiency office led by Elon Musk at the time.
The idea quickly caught Musk’s attention, and Trump eventually said that they were under consideration.
But there were some problems. For one, the $5,000 figure was based on Musk’s original estimate of $2 trillion in savings, which never materialized.
Republicans in Congress also balked at the idea, saying they preferred to see a reduction in the national debt.
The idea eventually faded, though Trump’s political operation has continued to float the idea in fundraising emails.