President Donald Trump’s pitch for a new round of government checks is falling flat on the Hill.
Republican lawmakers across the political spectrum aren’t jazzed about the idea of sending Americans a “rebate check” from fresh tariff revenue, which could surge thanks to Trump’s trade wars. Trump signed an executive order Thursday slapping a slate of countries with new tariffs ahead of today’s trade deal deadline.
The lack of enthusiasm for the rebate checks underscores just how hard it would be for the GOP to unite around another reconciliation push soon, though Speaker Mike Johnson keeps talking it up.
Debt-focused skeptics. The biggest problem for the new Trump idea is it goes against the ethos of conservatives who are already itching to slash more federal spending.
“No. We’re $37 trillion in debt,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said. “We’re running deficits about $2 trillion. Once we have the budget balanced, fine.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) echoed that sentiment, saying it’s a “great idea” but only once the budget is balanced.
“It’s one idea,” Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said. “I’d like to see the increased revenues applied towards reducing our debts.”
There’s skepticism in the House, too.
“As we are seeing benefits of our economic decisions and growth in the economy or additional revenue from sources that we didn’t necessarily expect, I would like to see a lot of that paying down the debt,” said Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), a Ways and Means Committee member.
More concerns. Debt worries aren’t the only factor.
GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski pointed to takeaways from her home state of Alaska’s decades-old fund that distributes money stemming from oil and mineral royalties.
Here’s Murkowski:
“One of the things that we have learned is that if you get a rebate today from the tariffs, next year you’re gonna want more from it. And so just the mechanics of it are something that I think merit a fair amount of study.”
There were also Republicans hesitant about some of Trump’s campaign-trail tax cut ideas, like no tax on tips. When it became clear those were the White House’s priority in the tax bill, resistance eventually washed away.
So the GOP mood could shift if Trump makes a bigger push for rebate checks. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) already backed up Trump’s idea with a bill for checks of $600 or more. But the push isn’t going anywhere for now.
“I don’t think there’s been conversation around that just yet,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said this week.
Subscribe to The Vault for more tax and financial services coverage.
