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DeSantis knocks Trump’s $5K dividend payment pledge: ‘More debt and more inflation’
DeSantis said the plan would add debt and inflation as Republicans face no clear legislative path for a bill worth more than $1 trillion.
President Donald Trump's pledge to give $5,000 to all adult U.S. citizens if Republicans keep control of Congress faces formidable obstacles on Capitol Hill, including resistance from members of his own party.
Historically, many congressional Republicans have staked hard ideological lines on responsible federal budgeting, but the proposal tests those principles as the national debt reached a historic $40 trillion milestone this summer.
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said in a Sept. 9 Fox News interview, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," while Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, wrote on X that he was "insulted by the notion" his vote could be "bought for 5k."
Democrats quickly labeled the plan a "bribe," and with a price tag exceeding $1 trillion, the GOP must pursue a party-line bill to overcome the 60-vote Senate threshold, a narrow path given uniform Democratic opposition.
Florida Governor DeSantis, term-limited in January, has urged states to pursue a balanced-budget amendment, arguing that "the way it works now in Congress, their incentives are to add debt for short-term political benefit.