President Donald Trump's surprise pledge to mail every American a $5,000 check drew roars at his Dallas rally, but inside his own party, it went over like a lead balloon.
Key congressional Republicans were blindsided by the promise, which Trump unveiled Wednesday at the Republican midterm convention, vowing that Congress would approve the payment to every adult citizen if the party keeps the House and Senate in November. According to The Washington Sun, more than a dozen lawmakers, aides and policy experts said they had no warning, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune was never briefed or consulted.
The reception on Capitol Hill was icy, with a senior Senate Republican aide flatly predicting the roughly $1.2 trillion plan was headed for a brick wall.
"It's not going to happen," the aide said, pointing to stubborn inflation Republicans blame on pandemic-era stimulus checks.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former Congressional Budget Office director who now leads the American Action Forum, said no one on the Hill saw it coming.
"It's a bad idea. There's no need for it economically, and it looks desperate politically," he said.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who also got no heads-up, blasted the idea online as "evil & soul-sucking" government dependency.
Even so, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) vowed to draft a bill, and Vice President JD Vance defended the payout as a "dividend for American workers."
The left-leaning Groundwork Collaborative noted Trump has promised Americans a check, rebate or dividend 15 times since returning to office. None has materialized.