Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration intends to fund President Donald Trump’s proposed $5,000 payments to adult U.S. citizens without taxpayer money or additional deficit spending, pointing to government revenue initiatives including the planned Trump Platinum Card.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration believes it can finance President Donald Trump’s proposed $5,000 “dividend” payments to adult U.S. citizens without using taxpayer money, offering new details about a campaign pledge that could cost more than $1 trillion if enacted.
“It’s not tax money,” Lutnick said in an interview with NBC News this week, arguing that the administration could generate the money Trump wants to distribute “not from the deficit, and not from taxpayers.”
“Together we’re going to deliver that plan and we’re going to pay that money to the Americans, and not from taxpayer money,” Lutnick said, according to The Hill.
Trump announced the proposal during the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas, promising a $5,000 payment to every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans retain control of both the House and Senate in the Nov. 3 elections. The White House has subsequently promoted the proposal as the “Trump Dividend.”
The proposal has not yet been enacted, and Congress would have to authorize the spending. With roughly 240 million adult Americans potentially eligible, a universal $5,000 payment could cost approximately $1.2 trillion, according to estimates cited by Reuters. Details covering eligibility, distribution and the ultimate funding mechanism remain unresolved.
Lutnick pointed to the administration’s immigration-card programs as one possible source of federal revenue.
The planned Trump Platinum Card would require a $15,000 Department of Homeland Security processing fee and, after approval, a $5 million contribution. Foreign nationals who obtain the card would be permitted to spend up to 270 days annually in the United States without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income, according to the government’s official Trump Card website. The Platinum Card has not yet launched, although prospective applicants can join a waiting list.
“We have a waitlist of more than 100,000 people who want to come,” Lutnick told NBC News. “That’s $500 billion dollars.”
That calculation assumes 100,000 applicants ultimately make the full $5 million contribution. It would still represent less than half the estimated cost of providing $5,000 to approximately 240 million adults, and it remains unclear how many people on the waiting list would ultimately qualify and pay.
Lutnick indicated that the card program would be only part of a broader strategy to generate government revenue rather than financing the payments through traditional tax collections or additional borrowing.
His explanation differs somewhat from earlier suggestions about how the dividend might be financed. Vice President JD Vance previously pointed to tariff revenue as a possible source, while Trump did not provide a detailed funding structure when announcing the proposal in Dallas. Reuters reported that current tariff collections alone would fall well short of the estimated cost of a nationwide $5,000 payment.
The administration would also face a fundamental legal and legislative requirement: Congress controls federal spending. Even if the executive branch generates revenue from tariffs, immigration programs or other sources, distributing more than $1 trillion in direct payments would generally require congressional authorization.
Trump placed that congressional requirement at the center of his convention pledge by making the dividend contingent on Republicans winning both chambers.
“If Republicans win both the House and the Senate, because of our tremendous economic success, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States for $5,000,” the White House later summarized Trump’s announcement.
The proposal has received support from some Republican lawmakers and skepticism from others concerned about its potential cost, federal borrowing and inflation. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has stopped short of committing to the plan, while Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., has warned that large-scale direct payments could increase inflationary pressures and borrowing costs.
Trump has nevertheless continued promoting the payment as a central component of his closing midterm message.
Whether the checks could ultimately be financed entirely without taxpayer funds remains unproven. No legislation establishing the program has been enacted, and the administration has not yet released a complete funding plan demonstrating how enough non-tax revenue would be generated to cover its potential cost.
Lutnick, however, insisted that the administration intends to find that money without placing the expense on taxpayers.
“Together we’re going to deliver that plan,” he said, “and we’re going to pay that money to the Americans, and not from taxpayer money.”
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