The White House assured on Wednesday that it remains committed to delivering a check of $2,000 to each American citizen, a promise made by President Donald Trump in recent days.
Although the government has already reopened and budget negotiations are progressing in Congress, the "tariff dividend" initiative remains in the legal and technical study phase, without a specific implementation date.
During a press conference, press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the president is “committed” to the distribution of payments, which would be funded by the revenue that the United States has collected through the imposition of tariffs on imported goods.
The White House is committed to making this happen,” Leavitt said when asked about the feasibility of the plan. She added that they are currently “exploring all legal options to achieve it”, although she did not provide a specific timeline.
The spokesperson emphasized that Trump "has made it clear that he wants this to become a reality," highlighting that the White House economic team "is currently assessing the feasibility of the plan and will provide more information once the next steps are defined."
Where does this promise come from?
The proposal had been announced by President Trump himself through several posts on his social media platform, Truth Social.
There, he promised a payment of "at least 2,000 dollars per person," financed by the surplus collected from his tariff policy.
"We are raising trillions of dollars and will soon begin to pay our HUGE DEBT of $37 trillion. […] A dividend of at least $2,000 will be paid to everyone (not including high-income individuals!)", he wrote.
The president argues that funds from tariffs—especially on Chinese products—should not be allocated solely to balance the state's accounts, but rather to directly benefit the population that, according to him, has been favored by his trade policy.
The fine print: Officials clarified the promise
Although Trump has insisted that it will be a direct payment, other members of his team have tempered expectations or even provided different accounts of how the supposed dividend would materialize.
The Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, for example, suggested that the benefit could translate into tax exemptions.
"It could simply be about the tax reductions," he said in an interview with ABC News, citing examples such as "the elimination of taxes on tips, overtime, Social Security, or the deductibility of car loans."
Bessent was even clearer in stating that there was no formal proposal regarding the alleged payment of a check: "We are not presenting it to the Senate right now, no."
The director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, expressed himself in similar terms.
Trump's promise came at a time of intense political tension and signs of electoral fatigue for the Republicans.
Recent surveys show that a significant portion of the electorate blames the party for the fiscal crisis and legislative stalemate.
The defeats suffered by conservatives in states like New Jersey and Virginia have raised alarms in party circles, and analysts agree that the president is seeking to regain the initiative with promises of high economic impact.
For now, the $2,000 tariff check remains a promise in the making. Karoline Leavitt's statements confirm that the White House is working on its legal and financial framework, but they also make it clear that a defined path has not yet been established.
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