Margaret Brennan asked White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett when the $2,000 payments President Trump has tied to "liberation day" tariffs will be distributed. Hassett said Congress must appropriate any funds and suggested the administration may propose legislation in the new year, citing recent economic gains including near‑4% quarterly growth and a roughly $600 billion improvement in the deficit. He added that tariff revenue could contribute but stressed an appropriation is required. Separately, reporting says a recent $1,176 payment to service members came from reconciliation housing funds rather than direct tariff receipts.
Margaret Brennan Presses Kevin Hassett on When Trump’s Promised $2,000 Checks Might Arrive
On Sunday, Face The Nation host Margaret Brennan asked White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett when Americans should expect the $2,000 payments President Donald Trump has linked to his so‑called "liberation day" tariffs.
Brennan noted that since July the president has repeatedly mentioned $2,000 payments for households, and she cited Treasury Department comments indicating the target would be households earning less than $100,000. She asked bluntly whether Americans should plan to receive those checks in 2026.
Hassett emphasized that any such payments would require congressional approval. He then highlighted recent economic data to argue there may now be fiscal room for a proposal.
"Congress is going to have to send those monies to those people," Hassett said. "What we can say is that since July we've had a lot of positive news about the economy. 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 added that while he had been skeptical over the summer about the feasibility of a $2,000 check, recent fiscal improvements made him more optimistic: "I would expect in the new year the president will bring forth a proposal to Congress to make that happen."
Brennan pressed whether the administration planned to use existing tariff receipts to fund the payments. Hassett responded that tariff revenue could be part of the funding mix but stressed that federal revenues come from many sources — taxes, tariffs and other receipts — and that Congress must appropriate funds through the spending process. "This would have to be money that's an appropriation," he said.
Summing up, Brennan observed that Americans should not count on the checks until Congress acts.
Separately, last week the president announced $1,176 checks for every service member as a Christmas "warrior dividend," saying the payments were made possible by tariffs. Reporting indicated those funds were actually drawn from Congressionally allocated reconciliation funds intended to subsidize housing allowances for service members, not directly from tariff receipts.
Watch the interview on Face The Nation for the full exchange.
