By Melissa De La Cruz | 12 News Phoenix
Several Trump administration officials have cautioned that the president’s proposal to send Americans rebate checks from tariff revenue requires congressional legislation.
As of now, the idea of Congress passing a bill to allow the $2,000 dividend checks seems like a long shot. Earlier this summer, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley introduced the American Worker Rebate Act for a stimulus check, but the idea fell flat among his colleagues in the Republican-controlled Congress. Several Republican senators shot down the tariff rebate check plan publicly, calling the proposal everything from “a bad idea” to “insane.” Most conservatives instead want to use any tariff revenue to pay down the massive national debt.
But is there a way to bypass Congress? The White House is certainly eyeing the possibilities.
During a Bloomberg event, Deputy White House Chief of Staff James Blair said that the White House will look “as hard as possible” to see if they can issue the $2,000 rebate checks without a green light from Congress. Blair, however, did express skepticism about the pathway.
