Trump wants to issue $2,000 tariff checks. He can't do that by himself.

"He needs Congress to sign off on it. To actually get checks into mailboxes, both the House and the Senate would need to sign off on the plan. Since Congress controls the power of the purse, the president can't spend money that hasn't been approved by the legislature. Getting anything through Congress is difficult these days, even when the party in power is largely on the same page."

"Stimulus checks, in particular, would be even more difficult: Several Republicans have already said they're opposed to the idea. "It's the dumbest idea I've ever heard," Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky told BI over the summer. "I would oppose it," Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin told BI. "It'll never pass," Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio told reporters months ago. "We have a $37 trillion debt.""

"Across the board, Republicans have said that they would prefer to see any revenue raised by tariffs be used to pay down the national debt. Even if Congress did approve tariff checks, there are other issues. The Supreme Court may strike down many of Trump's tariffs, cutting off the revenue that would fund the checks. And sending $2,000 to some Americans could end up driving up inflation in the long run."

President Donald Trump wants to send $2,000 checks to some Americans. He needs Congress to sign off on the plan. Both the House and the Senate must approve because Congress controls the power of the purse and the president cannot spend money without legislative authorization. Several Republicans have publicly opposed the proposal and prefer using tariff revenue to pay down the national debt. The Supreme Court may strike down many of Trump's tariffs, which would curtail the funding source. Sending $2,000 to some Americans could increase inflation. The White House asserts that tariffs are raising billions in revenue that can be used for such payments.

Read at Business Insider