The story

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States can afford to send $5,000 to every U.S. adult if his Republican Party keeps control of Congress in this year's elections. Trump told reporters in Ireland, where he was attending a golf tournament at his club in Doonbeg, that the payments would be easy to afford if Republicans win because trillions of dollars are coming into the country. Trump unveiled the idea during a speech at the Republican Party convention last week.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said on Sunday that any such payment would need to be approved by Congress. Johnson told CNN's State of the Union that the devil's in the details and lawmakers have to figure all that out. U.S. Representative Mike Lawler, a New York Republican in a closely contested race, said he supports putting money back in the pockets of hardworking Americans but emphasized the question is how to pay for it, citing a $4 trillion debt and tax cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill that Republicans passed last year.

Democratic politicians panned the idea on Sunday morning talk shows. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told ABC's This Week that it is not a serious proposal. U.S. Senator Mallory McMorrow, a Michigan Democrat, cited the elimination of some Affordable Care Act subsidies and cast doubt on whether the promised $5,000 checks would be sent even if Republicans retain control of Congress. Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the consumer watchdog Public Citizen, called the move an explicit and desperate attempt to buy votes in the November election.