POLITICS: Top WH economic adviser Hassett says Congress decides if Americans get $2K tariff check – USSA News

Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett said Sunday that President Trump’s idea to give Americans $2,000 checks funded by tariff revenue will “depend on what happens with Congress.”

“I would expect that in the new year, the president will bring forth a proposal to Congress to make that happen,” Hassett said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

Since July, Mr. Trump has floated a possible rebate for some Americans based on tariff revenue. And last month, the president posted on social media that a “dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News last month that the checks would likely go to households making less than $100,000. He said at the time it remained “in discussion.”

Hassett noted that Congress would have to approve the funds, which would likely be issued through the tax code and require lawmakers to pass new legislation authorizing the Treasury Department to send checks. But Hassett touted “a lot of positive news about the economy” since July that he suggested makes the checks more possible.

“We’ve had a couple of quarters of almost 4% growth, we’ve got a big government surplus actually running for a few months in a row, the deficit relative to last year is down by $600 billion,” Hassett said. “And so, in the summer, I wasn’t so sure that there was space for a check like that. But now I’m pretty sure that there is.”