Trump tariff checks face uncertainty

Many shoppers expressed mixed views on $2,000 prospect

By: Christopher Cann
Trevor Hughes
Phaedra Trethan
Eduardo Cuevas
Alysa Guffey
and Daniel de Vise
USA Today Network

..... For the past year, [2025] Ruby and Nathaniel jumper have tired saving up for a cross-country move.
..... The couple, who live in Mercedes, Texas, decided in January [2025] to relocat4e to Tennessee for better work opportunities and a bigger apartment for their family. But bills, surprise expenses and the high cost of groceries have set them back over and over again.
..... "It's been rough, honestly," said Ruby Jumper.
..... As the Jumpers stow away money when then can, they're closely watching one idea being floated in Washington DC; $2,000 rebate checks.
..... In recent months, President Donald Trump has previewed the idea of a tariff rebate that would hand thousands of dollars to lower- and middle-income Americans, funded by the tariff import taxes consumers have paid.
.... The idea, which comes as polls show Americans increasingly souring on Trump's handing of the economy, faces long-shot odds from bettors, logistical hurdles in Congress, and angst form some economists.
..... USA Today Network journalists spoke with shoppers across the country about the prospect of a tariff rebate and what $2,000 would mean to them.
..... For many, the idea stirred thoughts of catching up - of paying bills of regaining financial security they'd recently lost. But Andrie Thies in Milwaukee noted that $2,000 "doesn't go as far a sit used to."

Will Americans get checks in 2026?

..... Trump has repeatedly floated the rebates as a way to put money in wallets at a time when Americans are struggling with years of cumulative inflation. But the idea faces an uncertain future.
..... Multiple independent reports have concluded that the money collected in tariff revenue won't be enough to fund sweeping reach checks.
..... The nonpartisan Tax Foundation, said the checks would cost the government $279.8 billion to $606.8 billion, depending on who gets them. That's more than the $185.8 billion the tariffs generated in 2025, the nonprofit found.
..... Economists have also raised concerns that the tariff rebates cuckold contribute to a rise in inflation. and on Capitol Hill, the idea of rebate checks has been net with lukewarm responses, even form some Republicans.
..... In a statement, White house spokesperson Kush Desai said, "the Administration is committed to putting the federal government's historic tariff revenue to good use for the American people."

'It's not looking too good out here'

..... In downtown New Orleans in early December, [2025] Chris Thiel's kids brushed powered sugar from their shirts as their parents considered their holiday shopping.
..... Leaving the Riverwalk Outlets mall with a few small purchases, Thiel said the cost of everything is up: "the smallest toys: that last year [2024] cost $10 are now $20, he said.
..... He was not alone. Multiple pools released in December [2025] showed a large portion of adults intended to spend less on holiday shopping in 2025 than they did in 2024, with many blaming the high cost of goods.
..... Thiel said he heard rumbling about Trump's plans for a $2,000 tariff rebate, but he'll believe it when he sees it. With three kids, $2,000 probably wouldn't change their lives, he said.

'I don't thin it's going to happen'

..... In Milwaukee, Laure Creswell said she doesn't have much hope in the tariff checks, pointing to the once-floated Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, checks that never materialized.
..... "I think it;s another Trump TACO [Trump Alway chickens out] moment," she said. "I don;t think it's going to happen."
..... If she's wrong, however, she said she would use the money to build a rainy-day fund. "My savings are really depleted," she said. "To have a little pincushion would be really nice."
..... Many are in a similar position. a recent survey from Bankrate found that 8 in 10 Americans did not increase their emergency savings in 2025, with more than a quarter of respondents saying they had less than they did in 2024.
..... Creswell, who spoke with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA Today Network, which she was Christmas shopping, said she would spend less on gifts because of he cost of groceries.
..... "So much of everyday living - groceries, eggs, met - everything is just so much more expensive," she said. "You just try and save up through the year, but there's just a lot less to go around."

'Back to where we were before'

..... Ryan McDonald and wife, Samantha, of Voorhees, New Jersey, were out Christmas shopping for their daughters, age 4 and 7, on December 10 [2025]
..... Asked about the possibility of a tariff rebate check, McDonald, who works in helaht care, said he could sue the money but wished the president never imposed import taxes in the first place.
..... "I'd certainly wedlock a $2,000 check," he said, "but it's a roundabout way to get us back to where we were before."
..... At a Goodwill store near downtown Indianapolis, Jervae Jamison said she could use the tariff rebate to finally put a down payment toward a vehicle. I really need a car," she said, "so it would help."
..... But Jamison has one major reservation about the tariff dividend: A possible tax implication.
..... Like Jamison, Brooke Thornell, of Jacksonville, Florida, said she had done much of her shopping this year [2025] at thrift stores and secondhand shops. Thornell didn't think the rebate would happen.

..... Contributing: Betty Lin-Fisher USA Today; Hannah Schroeder, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Alexandria Mansfield, Florida times-Union

..... Christopher Cann, Trevor Huges, Phaedra Trethan, Eduardo Cuevas and Daniel de Vise report for USA Today; Alysa Guffey reports for The Indianapolis Star

HOME