$2,000.00 check to the American people

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Don’t spend that money just yet! Rumors are circulating online that the federal government will issue new stimulus checks before the end of the year.

But Congress has not passed any legislation authorizing payments, and the IRS has not confirmed that any new stimulus checks are scheduled in the coming weeks.

According to a Monday morning social media post, the president seems to think there would be enough money left after tariff rebate checks are doled out to help pay down the nation’s nearly $40 trillion in debt.

“All money left over from the $2000 payments made to low and middle income USA Citizens, from the massive Tariff Income pouring into our Country from foreign countries, which will be substantial, will be used to SUBSTANTIALLY PAY DOWN NATIONAL DEBT,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Although stimulus checks have proven politically popular in the past, they have come almost exclusively during recessions or emergencies. The American economy is in neither at the moment.

Rebate checks could exacerbate rising prices at a time when Americans say inflation and affordability are their top concern. Sending out checks could give America’s economy a sugar rush at the worst possible time and could ultimately ding American households if the Federal Reserve needs to hike its benchmark interest rate to counteract rising prices.

Even if the rebate checks get approval, don’t hold your breath.

During the pandemic, Americans who elected to receive direct deposit checks had the money in their bank accounts within about a week of the first stimulus package passing. Where it got much more dicey was for the Americans who elected to receive paper checks. That process took around 20 weeks.