Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is openly rejecting former President Donald Trump’s proposal to send Americans $2,000 “dividend” checks funded by tariff revenue, arguing the federal government “can’t afford” such a plan.
“We have to address the deficit problem. We are on borrowed time here,” Johnson said Monday on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria.” “If we’re bringing in revenue through the tariffs, that ought to be applied to reduce the deficit, not just making cash payments to Americans.”
Earlier this month, Trump floated the idea of sending Americans at least $2,000 next year using money collected from U.S. tariffs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later clarified that the plan “would be for working families,” and indicated that income limits would apply. He also suggested the benefit could be delivered “in lots of ways,” including through a potential tax cut.
The proposal comes as voters in both parties sour on the administration’s handling of the economy, while Trump continues to make misleading claims about grocery prices and inflation.
Some Republicans have sharply criticized the idea from within Trump’s own party. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), for example, dismissed it as a “crazy idea.”
On Monday, Johnson reinforced his opposition, telling host Maria Bartiromo, “We can’t afford it.”
“I wish [we were] in a position to return the American public their money, but we’re not,” he said, again stressing concerns about the growing U.S. deficit.
Johnson has argued that “whatever revenue we get from whatever source ought to go to try and bring down those deficits.”
The conservative Tax Foundation estimates that sending $2,000 checks to every American taxpayer earning less than $100,000 would cost about $279 billion, exceeding what Trump’s tariffs are projected to generate.
“President Trump had deficits. He’s [had] about $800 billion; Obama his last four years [had] $550 billion a year, [and] now we’re $2 trillion [in deficits]. Completely unacceptable,” Johnson said. “We have to start focusing on that and doing something about it.”
