Senators debate Trump-supported tariff rebate checks

[Marisa Laudadio]

President Donald Trump said increasing tariffs on goods brought into the U.S. will result in a “golden age of America.” By: ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA

A Republican senator thinks Americans deserve some of the money being generated from President Donald Trump’s tariffs. So much so, he’s proposed that U.S. citizens receive their share of the revenue — he’s claimed it could be as much as $150 billion in 2025 — in the form of stimulus checks. While Trump supports the idea, other GOP lawmakers have considered it but aren’t on board.

The rebate proposal​

Senator Josh Hawley’s American Worker Rebate Act would ensure a check is at least $600 per adult and dependent child. By: Mattie Neretin – CNP / MEGA

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced the American Worker Rebate Act, legislation that proposes using tariff revenue to fund direct payments to Americans. His plan would provide rebate checks to families, similar to the stimulus payments distributed by Congress during the pandemic in 2020. The minimum payment Hawley is proposing is $600 per adult and dependent — that’s $2,400 for a family of four — with the possibility of higher checks if tariff revenues increase. “Americans deserve a tax rebate after four years of Biden policies that have devastated families’ savings and livelihoods,” Hawley said in a statement. “Like President Trump proposed, my legislation would allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trump’s tariffs are returning to this country.”

Pushback from fellow Republicans​

Senator Rand Paul called the rebate check proposal “the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.” By: Mattie Neretin – CNP / MEGA

With the national debt at $37 trillion and counting, many other Republicans aren’t backing Hawley’s proposal. “Ridiculous” is what Senator Rand Paul called it. “We’re gonna basically borrow money to send it to the American people? There is no rebate if there’s no money,” the U.S. lawmaker from Kentucky said. “I mean, it’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.” Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio called Hawley’s idea “insane” and “extraordinarily inflationary.”

More Republican senators weigh in​

Senator Roger Marshall thinks tariff revenue should be used to pay down the national debt before rebates are considered. By: Mattie Neretin – CNP / MEGA

Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas said he doesn’t think rebate payments make sense and that America should “pay down the debt” first. “I just don’t know that [direct payments] are necessary. The folks back home don’t feel like they’re being hurt by tariffs, just the opposite. Prices have stabilized,” he said. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said he’d “be all for it” and support Hawley’s proposal “when we have a surplus. But we’re $37 trillion in debt, running a deficit that’s about $2 trillion as far as the eye can see. I would oppose it.”

What Trump has said about direct payments​

President Donald Trump said it “might be really nice” to see “a little rebate” for workers and families. By: Aaron Schwartz – Pool via CNP / MEGA

President Trump has said he likes the idea. “The big thing we want to do is pay down debt, but we’re thinking about a rebate. We have so much money coming in from tariffs that a little rebate for people of a certain income level might be really nice,” he said. It’s an interesting turn since previously, Trump has criticized stimulus checks, blaming pandemic-era payments for causing “the worst inflation in American history.”

The post Senators debate Trump-supported tariff rebate checks appeared first on Knewz.

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