Johnson says congressional approval required for Trump’s $5,000 ‘dividend’

House Speaker Mike Johnson says Congress would need to approve President Donald Trump’s proposal to send $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate after November’s election.

Trump made the proposal at the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Dallas last week, promising a “Trump Dividend” if voters keep the GOP in control on Capitol Hill. He later told CBS News Texas that he did not think Congress would need to authorize the payments, without explaining how more than $1 trillion could be spent without lawmakers’ approval.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said congressional action would be required. He called the idea creative and said he would try to advance it despite the party’s narrow Republican majority, adding that Congress would work through the proposal and seek consensus.

The proposal could cost more than $1 trillion, placing further pressure on the United States’ nearly $1.8-trillion annual budget deficit and adding to inflation concerns. Persistent inflation and rising interest rates are posing challenges for Republicans as they seek to retain control of Congress.

Trump has argued that a strong economy would make the payments possible. Consumer sentiment remains weak, however, as gasoline prices rise amid the war with Iran and wages struggle to keep pace with inflation. While attending a golf tournament at a course he owns in Ireland, Trump said the payments would be easy to manage because the United States was taking in so much money. He also said he intended to keep his pledge.

A July poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that one-third of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of the presidency, compared with 37 per cent in June and 42 per cent when he took office. Majorities also disapproved of his handling of the economy and immigration, issues central to his 2024 election.

Trump said Sunday that gasoline prices would “drop like a rock,” but indicated that no agreement with Iran to end the conflicts and reopen the Strait of Hormuz was imminent.

Johnson appeared Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union and NBC’s Meet the Press.