Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) on Monday warned President Donald Trump against seeking to send billions of dollars in dividends from tariffs to voters, suggesting the funds should instead go toward paying off the mounting national debt.
“Look, we can’t afford it,” Johnson told Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo. “I wish we were in a position to return the American public their money, but we’re not.”
“We’ll have at least a $2 trillion deficit this year,” Johnson said, echoing criticism of fellow fiscal hawks that the budget deficit has spiked when compared to previous administrations, Trump’s first and former President Barack Obama’s.
“President Trump had deficits about $800 billion,” the Wisconsin senator said. “Obama, in his last four years, $550 billion a year. Now we’re $2 trillion? Completely unacceptable. We have to start focusing on that and doing something about it.”
By the middle of 2026, Trump wants to send checks “of at least $2,000 a person” to most people across the country using dividends the Treasury Department has brought in from his sweeping global tariffs.
The move would likely need congressional approval, but White House officials said last week that they were looking at options to move the rebate checks forward that would not require authorization from lawmakers.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Monday that Trump’s legislative team is continuing to “figure out the best way” to cut the checks.
TRUMP BEMOANS LACK OF UNILATERAL TARIFF AUTHORITY AS ‘NOT’ WHAT FOUNDERS HAD IN MIND
“Look, the tariffs are an American policy,” Lutnick told Bartiromo. “The president wants the American people to understand how great tariffs are for them. And so one of the ways to prove to the American people how great tariffs are is to have them share in a part of one year’s income from these tariffs.
“So the president’s got that on his desk. I know that’s something he wants to achieve. … What he’s trying to do is make sure people in America understand that tariffs are their policy. It’s to make America stronger, and they can also benefit their pocketbook.”