Scott Bessent says Trump's proposed $2,000 tariff checks could need Congress's OK

""We will see. We need legislation for that," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday in an interview on Fox News when asked if Trump was going to send the tariff revenue-sharing checks soon. He said the checks would go to "working families" and that an income limit would be set. He didn't describe them as a sure thing, but said: "Those could go out.""

""Earlier this month, Trump had proposed on Truth Social that "a dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone." Trump first mentioned the checks in August when he said, "We're taking in so much money that we may very well make a dividend to the people of America."""

""The Trump Administration initially enacted sweeping protective tariffs in February in the name of rebalancing trade - an idea that Bessent reiterated on ABC's "This Week" earlier this month. At the time, he also said that no specific plan had been made to spend tariff revenue, and that the $2,000 payment could come in the form of not taxing tips and Social Security payments.""

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox News that legislation would be required before President Donald Trump's proposed $2,000 tariff revenue-sharing checks could be sent. He said the checks would go to working families and that an income limit would be set, but he did not promise they were certain. Trump proposed a $2,000 dividend on Truth Social and first suggested possible payments in August after announcing sweeping protective tariffs enacted in February to rebalance trade. The administration noted no specific spending plan had been finalized, and suggested options such as exempting tips and Social Security payments from taxes. Economists warned the payments could raise inflation.

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