Bessent Says Trump ‘Very Real’ About $5,000 Election ‘Bribe’ Payments

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has thrown his support behind President Donald Trump’s wacky idea to cut $5,000 checks for Americans if Republicans win the midterm elections.

Bessent said in a House hearing Tuesday that Trump is “very real” about the idea and that Treasury officials were exploring ways of doing it “without involving Congress.”

“We are currently examining that at Treasury,” Bessent told lawmakers. “And when the Republicans win in November, if we need to, I look forward to working with Speaker [Mike] Johnson on it.”

Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.) pressed Bessent on how such a major stimulus program would affect the federal budget deficit.

“Do you have any apprehensions about a $1.8 trillion deficit that would be impacted even more negatively if every American receives $5,000 from the federal government?” Cleaver asked.

“First of all, I think putting more money in the American people’s pockets should be an objective for everyone, and I believe that there are ways to do it that would not affect the deficit,” Bessent replied.

He did not expand on how so much federal money could be spent without impacting the deficit.

Trump proposed the midterm “dividend” during the Republican National Convention last week in an obvious attempt to tip the scales toward the GOP by promising voters free money if they vote accordingly. Prominent voices on both sides of the aisle have called the proposal a “bribe.” The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan think tank, has estimated the scheme would cost $1.2 trillion in a single year, or 3.5% of the national GDP.

The national debt has become a growing concern for lawmakers in recent weeks as inflation spikes and fuel prices hit record highs due to Trump’s war of choice in Iran. Fears of an extended period of inflation have roiled the bond markets and pushed yields on 10-year Treasury notes above 5%, making the government’s debt more expensive to carry — and making it harder for businesses and everyday Americans to borrow money.

Bessent’s suggestion the administration could send out the midterm checks without involving Congress is extremely far-fetched. Both federal law and the U.S. Constitution plainly forbid the government from spending money Congress hasn’t approved.

Republicans in Congress, who normally support almost anything the president wants, have been remarkably ho-hum about his latest idea to help the party ahead of November’s midterms. Even Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who has excused and whitewashed Trump’s 2021 mob attack on Congress, stood up for the legislature’s constitutional prerogatives when asked about the $5,000 payments.

“Obviously, it sounds good for all of us, but it’d have to go through us, you know, and I don’t think it’d stand a chance to get passed,” Tuberville told HuffPost on Tuesday. “But sounds like a good idea if you’re on the receiving end.”

Johnson (R-La.) told a reporter Tuesday he’d spoken to the president about the idea, but he declined to discuss the policy, claiming “we haven’t had time to process that.”

Many members of Congress do not seem to take the president’s proposal seriously. That apparently includes Cleaver, who expressed surprise when Bessent said he was exploring how to do it without Congress’ cooperation.

“So it is a thing?” he asked Bessent at one point.

“I’m not sure what ‘a thing’ means,” Bessent replied.

“It is a thing when it is real,” Cleaver said.

“The president’s intent is very real,” Bessent said.