National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Sunday that President Trump is likely to support legislation early next year that would send $2,000 tariff rebate checks to Americans.
Speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Hassett said he expects the president to present a formal proposal to Congress after the new year. He emphasized, however, that the plan’s future depends entirely on lawmakers. Sen. Ron Johnson has already voiced concerns, saying the country “can’t afford” such a program.
Trump began pushing last month for $2,000 payments to be sent to all Americans except those with high incomes. The White House has not yet defined the income cutoff. The money would come from revenue generated by Trump’s broad tariffs on imported goods.
Hassett explained that while tariff revenue could fund the checks, any payments would still need congressional approval because they fall under federal appropriations.
According to the Treasury Department, the government collected $195 billion in tariff revenue through the first three quarters of the year. Many companies have passed some of these costs on to consumers. As of Nov. 17, the average effective tariff rate faced by consumers is 16.8 percent — the highest since 1934 and significantly higher than it was at the start of the year, according to the Yale Budget Lab.