Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) declined Thursday to endorse President Donald Trump’s proposed $5,000 dividend to American adults as written, saying he could back it only if it is reworked into a tax refund for working taxpayers.
Cruz set that condition during an appearance with Fox News host Jesse Watters amid the network’s coverage of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, where Trump revealed the plan a day earlier. Asked whether he would vote for a $5,000 check, the Texas Republican said his answer “depends on how it’s structured.”
“I would like to see it structured as a tax refund,” Cruz said. “I would be all for structuring it as a tax refund.”
The senator drew a line at who should receive the money, arguing against the kind of blanket payment Trump described from the convention stage.
“But I think we should be incentivizing work. I don’t think we should be paying people that are not working, particularly those that are physically able to work, but choosing not to,” Cruz said.
Cruz’s carve-out put him alongside a growing set of Republicans wary of the plan. According to Forbes, he aligned himself with outgoing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s push for a tax break over the checks, though he stopped short of directly criticizing Trump.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) warned the idea would be “extraordinarily costly” and noted it appeared to carry no income cap. Paying $5,000 to nearly 270 million adults would exceed $1 trillion, adding to a national debt that recently passed $40 trillion. Republican donor Joe Lonsdale called the plan “bread and circus bribes.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) declined to commit to a floor vote, telling Fox News, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
The pushback landed on Trump’s signature convention applause line just as Cruz lays groundwork for a possible 2028 presidential run. Cruz has quietly asked whether people would join a campaign and has traveled to Iowa three times this year. Asked how much a Trump endorsement would matter, Cruz declined to treat it as decisive.
“It carries weight, but I think the voters are going to make their own determination,” Cruz said.
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