Top Republican senators dump cold water on Trump’s expensive midterm bribe

President Donald Trump reacts on stage at the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas, September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare

President Donald Trump put forward an expensive offer to voters to convince them to vote Republican in the midterms, but according to The Hill, numerous GOP senators are continuing to dump cold water on the idea.

During last week's GOP midterm convention, in addition to asking his supporters to "cheat," Trump claimed that if Republicans manage to retain the House and Senate in November, every adult citizen in the country would receive a $5,000 check. This was immediately met with a wave of withering criticism, accusing the president of bribery and attempted voter manipulation. A number of Republican lawmakers also cast doubt on the idea, with Vice President JD Vance scaling back the idea and claiming that wealthier people might not qualify.

With the Senate back in session as of Monday, The Hill spoke with several Republican senators about the prospect of Trump's payment plan, and many continued to dump cold water on the idea. Fiscal concerns were at the forefront, given that the checks would cost roughly $1 trillion to implement, at a time when the national debt has surpassed $40 trillion, and with Medicare and Medicaid staring down insolvency within the next decade.

We’re trying to figure out what that proposal is. He called it a ‘dividend,’ but I don’t know what that proposal is and I’ve seen no legislation,” Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, told The Hill, also adding concerns about what the payments might do to inflation. “I don’t know whether it should go out at all."

He added further: “We watched the Inflation Reduction Act and the money that was actually shipped out the door and what that did to inflation across the country. That had a detrimental effect when you throw money out.”

Sen. Steven Daines, a Montana Republican, invoked the debt while speaking to the outlet. He also confirmed that Trump's convention address was the first time he had heard about the idea.

“I haven’t seen the mechanism and mechanics around how we could get it done,” Daines said. “I do worry about the $40 trillion in debt that we have, and something like that would add to the national debt.”

"Most of the time when you give out dividends, you’re running a profit. I’m thinking maybe they just forgot the negative sign. If you lose $2 trillion a year, I guess it would be a negative $5,000 dividend,” Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, said. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to basically borrow money to send to the public. I don’t think it will come to fruition."

"If you’re telling me we’ve got to borrow the money then obviously that’s going to negatively impact people’s personal finances in the near, intermediate and long term by raising interest rates," Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, said.

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