President Donald Trump stands on stage at a campaign rally for Oklahoma Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei on October 1, 2026 in Durant, Oklahoma.
Kevin Dietch | Getty Images News | Getty Images
With less than a month until Election Day, President Donald Trump is touting two federal cash transfer programs already in place while renewing his promise of even larger $5,000 checks provided Republicans retain control of Congress.
On Friday, President Trump announced a one-time $90 payment to 20.8 million Medicare beneficiaries. The next day, he reinstated an earlier promise to give every adult American citizen $5,000. However, that will only happen if Republicans maintain a majority in Congress in November.
“If Republicans win the House and Senate in the 2026 midterm elections, we will give every adult American citizen $5,000,” President Trump said in a video post on Truth Social on Saturday. The president made a similar pledge at the Republican National Committee’s first midterm convention held in Dallas last month.
President Trump did not provide details about who would approve the payments or where the funds would come from.
These claims come on the heels of $500 Obamacare “refund” checks that began being distributed last week to roughly 950,000 people who purchased unsubsidized insurance through the federal marketplace.
The $90 payments to certain eligible Medicare Part B enrollees will be funded through the Medicare Improvement Fund and are expected to arrive this month. The $500 Obamacare payments have already been distributed to some full-price HealthCare.gov customers.
According to a Reuters analysis, 71% of Obamacare funding ($339 million) will go to residents in 13 states with the nation’s most competitive Senate and gubernatorial races, but eligibility is based on insurance coverage rather than voting status.
Together, the proposals for direct cash payments come as Republicans head into the final stages of a midterm campaign dominated by concerns about prices and the economy.
But the $5,000 “Trump Dividend” remains little more than a promise, and Trump is very light on details, especially where the money will come from and who needs to authorize it. Sending $5,000 to every adult citizen would cost about $1.2 trillion and would require Congressional approval.
Some Republicans have also expressed concerns about the impact on budget deficits and inflation.
Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) told Reuters last month that he would “dedicate all of my heart and soul” to blocking the proposal, warning that it could push interest rates higher. And Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) called the plan a “political bribe” in a Sept. 10 interview with CNN and said Congress controls federal spending.
The White House and the offices of Representatives David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) did not respond to requests for comment.
Opinion polls suggest the idea is not a surefire political winner.
Voters are likely to be essentially split on the proposal, 47% to 48%, according to Rasmussen Report research. Only 15% said it would influence their vote. A poll by Marquette Law School in Wisconsin found that 70% opposed the payments, and a poll by The Economist and YouGov found that 57% of registered voters doubt Mr. Trump would actually issue the payments even if Republicans retain control of Congress.
President Trump has made several promises to send cash to Americans, but he has not delivered.
In February 2025, the Trump administration issued $5,000 “DOGE Dividend” checks, claiming the funds would come from savings from cuts enacted by the now-defunct Elon Musk-led “Department of Government Efficiency.” These payments never materialized.
Then, in November, President Trump proposed paying at least $2,000 per person in reciprocal dividends funded by tariffs. The Supreme Court canceled the tariff in February this year, but no checks were issued.
The pattern of providing direct cash payments to voters dates back to President Trump’s first term. Six weeks before the 2020 election, President Trump promised that 33 million Medicare beneficiaries would receive $200 prescription drug cards “within a few weeks,” but the cards were never distributed.
Still, the Trump administration gave about 1.5 million service members a $1,776 “warrior dividend” last year, and Congress approved pandemic relief payments during his first term.
