Trump pledges $5K ‘Trump dividend’ if Republicans hold onto Congress

President Trump pledged a $5,000 payout to U.S. adults on Wednesday, but only if Republicans hold onto their majority in Congress come November.

“Here is my promise: if the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” he said at the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas, Texas.

The legality of this disbursal is unclear. There are about 270 million adults in the U.S.

Trump told attendees Wednesday that the administration can disburse the proposed “Trump dividends” “because we’ve done so well and because our country is making so much money.”

He added that the payments could only be used in the U.S. but did not outline any specifics.

“We don’t want you going to Canada to spend the money,” he said. “We don’t want you going to China, to Germany.”

Trump had teased the announcement earlier in his marathon speech at the Dallas arena, saying he thought it would be “the best part of the speech.”

The president has floated ideas like this before. Last year, he promised to distribute $2,000 tariff dividend checks to Americans but was vague about specifics.

It was unclear whether Congress would have to approve such a move. Trump said he didn’t “believe” he needed congressional approval for the tariff checks, but National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett later suggested Congress would have to be involved.