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Scott Bessent has given an update on the $2,000 stimulus checks President Donald Trump proposed paying out using the revenue raised from his tariffs. In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, the Treasury Secretary said he had not discussed the idea with the president but that the tariff dividends could arrive "in lots of forms," including via the tax cuts already enacted through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. "It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president's agenda. You know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility of auto loans," Bessent told host George Stephanopoulos. "So, you know, those are substantial deductions that, you know, are being financed in the tax bill." Why It Matters There have been few formal announcements regarding whether and how the administration would distribute Trump’s stimulus checks. Some remain skeptical given the abandonment of the previously floated DOGE dividend payments, concerns that the costs of this proposal would exceed actual tariff revenues, and the fact that the fate of the duties themselves is currently being decided by the Supreme Court. What To Know Trump unveiled his idea for a tariff rebate in a series of Truth Social posts on Sunday, while defending the duties after major questions were raised regarding their legality during Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing. The president called critics of the policy "fools" and said that the U.S. was "taking in trillions of dollars" thanks to the tariffs, before stating that a $2,000 dividend would be paid to every American except "high income people." According to the Treasury Department’s latest monthly statement, the U.S. has raised around $195 billion in customs duties in Fiscal Year 2025. The Yale Budget Lab estimates that tariffs could raise around $2.5 trillion over the next ten years, while the Congressional Budget Office predicts these could raise $3.3 trillion in revenue for the for the 2025‒2035 period. Billionaire investor John Arnold, co-chair of Arnold Ventures, calculated that a $2,000 check for every American adult, excluding the roughly five percent who could qualify as "high income people," would cost $513 billion. Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation, said that excluding those with incomes over $100,000 would mean 150 million adults still qualify for the rebates, putting the total cost at $300 billion. This compares to the roughly $217 billion the Tax Foundation estimates current tariffs will raise in 2026. "The math gets worse accounting for the full budgetary impact of tariffs: a dollar of tariff revenue offsets about 24 cents of income and payroll tax revenue," she wrote. "Adjusting for that, tariffs have raised $90 billion of net revenues compared to Trump’s proposed $300 billion rebate." York added that the rebate scheme "would increase the national debt." In July, Republican Senator Josh Hawley proposed giving Americans a $600 dollar check using tariff revenues, and Trump himself said the administration was "thinking about a rebate." However, in August, Treasury Secretary Bessent told CNBC that the administration was "laser-focused" on paying down the national debt before considering any sort of dividend payment. "So I think that we’re going to bring down the deficit to GDP. We’ll start paying down debt," he said. "And then at a point, that can be used as an offset to the American people." What People Are Saying President Donald Trump via Truth Social on Sunday: "People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS! We are now the Richest, Most Respected Country In the World, With Almost No Inflation, and A Record Stock Market Price. 401(k)’s are Highest EVER. We are taking in Trillions of Dollars and will soon begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT, $37 Trillion. Record Investment in the USA, plants and factories going up all over the place. A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone." Scott Bessent on ABC: "I haven't spoken to the president about this yet, but, you know, it could—the $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways, George. You know, it could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president's agenda. You know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security. Deductibility of auto loans. So, you know, those are substantial deductions that, you know, are being financed in the tax bill." What Happens Next The Supreme Court is currently weighing the legality of President Trump’s tariffs. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Fox Business that the ruling is likely to come before the end of the year. Should the court rule against Trump’s tariffs, the government could be forced to refund some of the import taxes, but Greer said the administration has other mechanisms it could rely on to impose the duties.
