Judgment by United States Supreme Court Abolition of comprehensive tariffs imposed Donald Trump It casts doubt on a proposed $2,000 “tariff bonus” for middle-income Americans, eliminating a key source of revenue cited by the administration to pay for it.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the 6-3 decision that the president claimed “extraordinary authority” to impose tariffs of unlimited scope and duration without express authorization from Congress. Given constitutional and historical limits on executive power, such authority must be expressly granted by Congress, Roberts wrote.
Tariff-funded dividend proposals currently uncertain
Trump floats idea of sending Americans dividend payment Funded by tariff revenue from November 2025 Truth Social post.
In an interview with The New York Times in early January, he said checks could arrive at households by the end of 2026, but details about eligibility and distribution have not yet been finalized.
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Even before the ruling, experts questioned whether the tariffs would generate enough revenue to support the payments. Without those tariffs, the financing mechanism is now even more uncertain, the Providence Journal reported.
Trump warned on social media in January that overturning the tariffs would jeopardize the proposal.
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White House hints at alternative financing options
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Face the Nation in December that dividend payments could still be funded through other federal revenue.
“We get taxes, we get tariffs, we get revenue from a lot of places, and then Congress decides how to spend that money,” he said.
Past tax rebate proposals stalled in Congress
Trump floated several tax rebate ideas in 2025, including a $600 proposal later introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley in the American Worker Rebate Act, but the bill did not advance in Congress.
No stimulus payments have been approved yet, and with tariff revenue gone, the fate of any $2,000 checks remains unclear.


