President Donald Trump dropped a hot mess of a half-baked midterm promise in lawmakers’ laps Wednesday night.
Trump at the GOP’s convention pledged to send $5,000 to every adult in the U.S. if Republicans retain control of Congress in the midterms. And while the crowd of thousands of his supporters gathered at Dallas’ American Airlines Center cheered the announcement, GOP fiscal hawks were balking at the effort before Trump even left the stage.
“I would like to know how they would plan to pay for … back of envelope … well over $1 trillion,” Rep. Chip Roy, who won’t be returning to Congress next year, said in response to Trump’s offer.
The payout, which would need to be approved by Congress, would dwarf the amount distributed during the Covid pandemic and likely explode the deficit. Trump did not detail how the checks would be financed — only that the money would be limited to citizens and required to be spent in the U.S.
A GOP operative, granted anonymity to discuss the idea, expressed skepticism, calling it “a desperate attempt to change the political mood.”
If the president followed through on such a plan, it would likely worsen inflation by further boosting consumer spending and supporting higher prices, which are already elevated due to the war in Iran. The dividend could also exacerbate a rise in longer-term borrowing costs for the U.S. government, which have been going up in part on fears the federal debt is growing unsustainable.
The move comes after months of Republicans pleading with Trump to focus his messaging — and fundraising war chest — on helping the party retain control of Capitol Hill come November.
Some House Republicans following the speech told POLITICO the effort showed how desperate the president was in the last weeks of midterm campaigning.
“It’s a little late,” one House Republican, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said.
Others may have been relieved that the president was touting a message aimed at affordability concerns at the top of voters’ minds.
“We got to talk about the issues that people are dealing with. Families can’t afford their house, they can’t afford the food, they can’t afford health care, they can’t afford child care,” Sen. Rick Scott said in an interview in the convention hall before Trump’s announcement.
Sen. Ted Cruz in an exclusive interview with POLITICO after Trump’s speech, said he’d prefer to tie work requirements to the dividends, but added specifics would need to be worked through.
“$1.3 trillion dollars is a massive amount,” Cruz said, referring to his estimate for the plan. But, he said it’s less than if Democrats won back power and spent like “drunken sailors.”
Read also: ‘A communist caucus’: Trump gives Republicans their midterms enemy
What else we’re watching:
— CONGRESS IN DISARRAY OVER AI SAFETY: Congress is confronting a grim reality: Members may be ill-equipped and far from ready to rein in advanced new AI that one expert warned could “kill us all.” More than a dozen lawmakers and aides from both parties on Wednesday told POLITICO they were hopeful Congress would start taking the issue seriously after a viral social media post this week from an ex-Anthropic researcher outlined dire risks. But it’s far from certain the desire to make progress will translate into meaningful legislative activity before the end of the year.
— SENATE DEMS HOLD THEIR FIRE ON FETTERMAN: Sen. John Fetterman has faced a tide of public criticism from fellow Democrats as he stakes out lonely ground as a critic of the far-left wing of his party. So far, however, his Senate colleagues haven’t joined the pile-on. Another wave of intraparty criticism rolled in Wednesday after he made a surprise video appearance at the Republican midterm convention. But Democratic senators are staying above the fray as they work to flip the majority in November amid constant speculation that the 57-year-old Pennsylvanian could trigger a nightmare scenario by leaving the party and caucusing with the GOP.
Ashley Ahn, Dasha Burns, Meredith Lee Hill, Kelsey Brugger, Riley Rogerson and Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
Read the full article here