JOHNSON: It's a new, creative idea. The president debuted it at the convention. We have had zero time, of course, to process that, deliberate, discuss it. As you know, I got to build consensus every day on everything. But we applaud the president for thinking outside the box.
[BEGIN TAPE]
PRES. DONALD TRUMP:
Please pretend that I’m running. If the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000. It will be called the Trump dividend.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER: And joining me now is the Republican Speaker of the House, Congressman Mike Johnson of Louisiana. Speaker Johnson, welcome back to Meet The Press.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: Hey, Kristen, great to be with you as always.
KRISTEN WELKER: It’s great to have you this Sunday after the Republican convention this past week. And I want to start right there at the convention. President Trump made a promise that he would send $5,000 to every American if Republicans hold onto the House and the Senate. Is that a plan you support, Mr. Speaker?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: Well, look, what the president was doing is reminding the American people of our extraordinary record of success. And the fact that they have more money in their pockets under Republican control of Congress and the White House. I mean, look at it. Under the — this regime and under this presidency and our Republican majorities, we’ve given the largest tax cut in U.S. history, wages are going up. In my state of Louisiana, I’m there this morning in my home state. And the average Louisianan has over $2,900 more in their pocket they did not have to send in in their taxes. And the average take home pay has increased nearly $8,000 for every taxpayer. 97% of filers got a tax refund this year. And that’s all because of our policy. So elections have consequences. What the president is brainstorming about is ways to further incentivize and grow the economy and make sure that Americans keep more of their hard-earned dollars. So that’s an idea, a new one, an idea that we’ll process through Congress and talk through and debate and discuss. But we’re going to continue on this pace of an incredible record of achievement, also in addition to the economy of course.
KRISTEN WELKER: Yeah.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: I mean, we talked about at the convention highlighting all the great wins. And listen, this is real statistics. You know that we have the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years. We have the lowest level of illegal border crossing in over a century. We have the biggest decline in drug costs, prescription drugs, in over 60 years. And of course we gave the largest middle and working families tax cut in U.S. history, more wages, more jobs, more on-shoring of American manufacturing. And that was a lot of fun to tout at the convention and draw people’s attention to it because we have a contrast election coming up here on November 3rd.
KRISTEN WELKER: Mr. Speaker, I hear you saying wages are going up. It’s worth noting wages went up 3.1%, inflation 3.4%, so not keeping pace with inflation. But to my question, do you support sending $5,000 to every American citizen if Republicans hold on to the House and Senate?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: Like every idea that the president comes up with, he’s a great idea generator. We’re going to process that in Congress and figure it all out. But I’ll tell you that the trend will continue. And what the president is trying to emphasize there is that the American people want to continue on the pace we’re on, which is more economic growth, expanding the pathway out of poverty for more people, providing more jobs and higher wages. We need to stay on track and continue with these big ideas. He’s the big idea’s president. We’re going to try to implement everything we can.
KRISTEN WELKER: Mr. Speaker, I want to read for you something that Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine said about these $5,000 checks. She wrote, quote, “Tax and spending decisions should be made based on the needs of the American people and the state of the economy. They should not appear to be tied to election results.” The president said that these checks are contingent on election results. Is this an attempt to buy votes?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: No, of course not. Remember the Democrats who are making that claim are the same ones who gave out COVID checks and all sorts of stimulus checks and everything else —
KRISTEN WELKER: Well, she’s a Republican.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: It’s not an unprecedented —
KRISTEN WELKER: Susan Collins is a Republican —
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: You know, the president is not —
KRISTEN WELKER: Susan Collins is a Republican —
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: Yeah, I understand that. I understand. Sure — sure, but that’s right. And so is the president. He’s the lead Republican in the country. And what he is articulating there is the obvious truth that you have more money in your pockets with Republicans in control than with Democrats. And at the same time, we are cutting government spending and doing it responsibility. Remember in the Big Beautiful Bill, the working families’ tax cut, we also cut $1.6 trillion in wasteful government spending. So it’s about prioritizing spending and making sure that hard-working families can keep more of what they earn. And we’re going to look at every ingenious idea on how to make that happen. And it’ll all be part of the process.
KRISTEN WELKER: Mr. Speaker, since you took office though, inflation is up, gas prices are up. Estimates show tariffs have cost American households nearly $2,000 so far. I know you’re saying Americans have more money in their pockets. But as you well know, many Americans say they just don’t feel that. Is there a disconnect there in terms of what you’re saying, what Americans are feeling?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: No, I mean, we have to consider all of the facts of course. But remember that when President Trump took over, the economy was in shambles. I mean, we reached a 40-year high of inflation under Biden and Harris, 9.1%. At this stage, in President Biden’s presidency, it was about 8.3% inflation. Right now it’s 3.4% under President Trump. Now that’s too high, of course. But we are the team that has the policies in place to continue to bring that down. The inflation is tied right now, as we all know, to the Strait of Hormuz and the fact that commerce there is not reopened and stabilized as much as it should be. But we all believe and the president’s working around the clock that that will come to a resolution here very soon. And I think it’s going to be a combination of our allied nations, our, our friends in NATO and other Arab states in the region over there in that Gulf region who will come together to help make sure that the Strait of Hormuz remains open so that that stabilizes gas and fuel prices —
KRISTEN WELKER: We’re going to get —
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: – and brings down costs overall. I think that’s the next phase.
KRISTEN WELKER: We’re going to get to Iran. It is worth noting inflation was at 3.0% when President Biden left office. It’s now at 3.4%. but let’s talk about the price tag. Because there’s been a lot of discussion about that. The checks would cost the government an estimated $1.2 trillion. I want to pay for you something that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said about how this plan would impact the nation’s already $40 trillion debt. Take a look.
[BEGIN TAPE]
GOV. RON DESANTIS:
What I don’t think you want to do is borrow another million — trillion and a half dollars and then just try to flood that into the economy. Because that will lead to more inflation. That will lead to more debt and more inflation.
[END TAPE]
KRISTEN WELKER: In the past, you have called the national debt the largest threat facing the country. Why would you want to add to the debt, Mr. Speaker?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: I don’t want to add to the debt, Kristen, and I guess we’re going to spend the whole segment talking about this one issue when there’s so many other things —
KRISTEN WELKER: No, we’re going to get to other issues —
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: – I want to talk about what we’ve actually done and not ideas on the table. Okay well I’d love to but let me just say, no we don’t want to add to the debt. But if you look at what Commerce Secretary Lutnick said in the last 48 hours or so and what the president himself has said, this is not to add to anything. It’s not going to take taxpayer funds. We’re not going to get further in debt if this idea was implemented. This would be in the president’s mind and the way he analogized it like a dividend check for shareholders. That’s how he thinks of it. If a corporation does well, everybody gets the benefit of that. And he thinks of it this way. They’re talking about the new, you know, tariff revenue and other revenues coming into the country. He said at the convention, you know, trillions of dollars are coming into the country since he took office because of the new trades, that things are more advantageous for America. And he wanted — he wants to make sure the American people feel the good effect of it. So again, we’ve got to process it like every idea. We’ll work that through Congress. But you and I are wasting a lot of time this morning when there’s other important things to talk about.
KRISTEN WELKER: Oh — well, you still haven’t answered the question. Let me just button it up. We’re going to move on to a number of other topics. But do you commit that if Republicans hold onto the House and Senate that Americans will get those $5,000 checks?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: I commit that Congress will work through it and find consensus on that like they have to do everything else. We have a small margin in this Congress. We’ve had smallest — almost smallest in history, one or two vote margin on every given day. So it takes some time. I never go out and give– give big commitments on the front end because I’ve got to work through it. And that’s what we do every single day.
KRISTEN WELKER: President Trump promised that to voters though. You’re not willing to double down on that promise?
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON: I’ll work with the president hand-in-hand as I do all the time. And we’ll deliver for the American people. That’s the promise.
Johnson brought up Lutnick. Malcolm Ferguson (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes:
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick thinks Trump’s $5,000 midterm bribe can be paid for with funds from the so-called “Trump Platinum Card,” which hasn’t even been launched yet.
Lutnick shared this ridiculous idea with NBC News on Thursday.
“Together we’re going to deliver that plan and we’re going to pay that money to the Americans, and not from taxpayer money.... We have a waitlist of more than 100,000 people who want to come,” he said, referring to the Platinum Card applicants. “That’s $500 billion.”
The Platinum Card is a $15,000 application and $5 million donation to the government for extremely wealthy immigrants looking to expedite their citizenship process. The program would allow applicants to live in the U.S. for nearly the entire year without paying taxes on foreign income.
Johnson was willing to talk about Lutnick's ridiculous idea but Johnson refused to promise $5,000 to every American. They tried, Tapper and Welker on two different programs today to pin him down on the 'pledge'/'promise' and he wouldn't commit to it. On CNN's THE MORNING, Rene Marsh spoke with Erik Wasson:
MARSH: Well, we will see. Monday is right around the corner. Let's bring in Bloomberg congressional reporter Erik Wasson. Erik, good morning. Thank you so much for joining us.
I mean, let's start there with Mitch McConnell. What are you hearing about the possibility that he returns to the Senate tomorrow after this three-months absence? And honestly, if he does not show up, what's the practical impact here?
ERIK WASSON, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, BLOOMBERG: You know, I'm not -- don't have any recent intel on this. He has been gone for about 80 days. You know, certainly he's facing serious health issues. It's certainly possible he'll come back.
But, you know, the Senate is really not doing too much of great import. They're going to be working on nominations, trying to clear more of those Trump backed judges and other nominees, but not really planning to enact any of the major promises, including the $5,000 checks that, you know, President Trump mentioned could be coming. The Republicans control both Houses of Congress, but they're not acting on that.
[. . .]
MARSH: All right. Let's turn to the midterm sprint, because that is where their focus is. We are about seven weeks out from the election. What's the messaging that voters are going to expect to hear from Democrats versus the messaging from the Republicans in the time we have left?
WASSON: You know, we have a good piece on Bloomberg now looking at Trump's promises at the convention. He talked about those $5,000 checks. But, you know, Republicans that I talked to are divided. That would add $1.3 trillion to the debt.
They're also talking about other things like passing the Save America Act, this voter id act. But all that requires nuking the Senate filibuster. They don't have the votes for that.
They don't have the votes for it. This was also addressed on ABC's THIS WEEK:
And late Friday, new concern about prices going up even further. Saudi Arabia shutting down a pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz after repeated attacks by the Houthis.
Trump facing near record low approval ratings and well aware the cost of living is a top issue for voters, making an unprecedented offer -- to pay every American $5,000 if Republicans win both chambers of Congress.
TRUMP: Five thousand dollars for every adult citizen in our country.
BRUCE (voice-over): He did not say how he would come up with the roughly $1.3 trillion he'd need to pay every American adult, or how that would even work.
Democrats say that the president's pitch is nothing more than a stunt.
REP. ROBERT GARCIA, (D) CALIFORNIA: The dividend is not happening. He promised a dividend on tariffs. That didn't happen. He promised a dividend on DOGE. That didn't happen.
BRUCE (voice-over): Some Republicans pushing back on the idea.
Maine Senator Susan Collins calling it extraordinarily costly, adding, tax and spending decisions should not appear to be tied to election results.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune sounding skeptical.
DANA BASH, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Would you have enough votes to pass a $5,000 dividend to every American?
SEN. JOHN THUNE, (R) SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Well, that's a good question, Dana, and we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Thanks to Mary Bruce for that. We're joined now by the House Democratic Leader, Hakeem Jeffries. Mr. Leader, thank you for coming in this morning.
I want to talk about the convention in a second, but let's start with A.I. and these remarkable warnings we're getting this week. I know you met with President Obama and talked about this issue earlier this week. What will Dem -- what do Democrats think need to be done right now?
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES, (D-NY) HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Well, we certainly need to begin to act urgently to address the challenges that exist. And unfortunately, Republicans have abandoned their responsibility.
So, under Speaker Mike Johnson, he killed a bipartisan task force this Congress that was prepared to do the serious work necessary to try to erect the guardrails to protect the health, the safety, the well-being of the American people.
STEPHANOPOULOS: OK, let's turn to the midterm convention, the president's $5,000 promise. If Democrats take control next year, is that dead on arrival?
JEFFRIES: Well, listen, it wasn't a serious proposal that was presented by Donald Trump. He's broken every promise that he's presented. Donald Trump promised to actually lower costs on day one. Costs haven't gone down. They've gone up.
Donald Trump promised not to start endless wars in the Middle East, but to stop them, and then turned around and did the exact opposite in Iran.
Donald Trump even promised to love and cherish Medicaid and then enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history.
As Democrats, we're going to focus on aggressively driving down the high cost of living and fighting for an affordable America, because the cost of living in this country is way too high. Republicans have made the situation worse. Democrats are going to act aggressively.
President Donald Trump guaranteed that his $5,000 checks to all Americans are “100%” going forward if Republicans win the midterms and that he knows “exactly” how he’ll pay for it.
Trump met with reporters on the tarmac in Shannon, Ireland, when he was asked when he first came up with the idea.
“A while ago,” Trump said. “And that’s going forward. The $5,000 checks are going forward. And that’s because we’re taking in so much money in so different ways, including the tariffs.”
The Justice Department has sent F.B.I. agents to reporters’ homes to serve subpoenas and, in at least one case, flashed a warrant to seize devices. The Pentagon has fired the editor and publisher of its traditionally independent newspaper, Stars and Stripes, and blocked access to other journalists who refused to sign pledges that would limit their reporting.
Regulatory agencies are using their powers to pressure media organizations over their content. The administration has stripped funding from public television and radio. Angry over stories he does not like, President Trump has sued major news organizations and the White House has taken control of the previously independent press pool that tracks the president, deciding which outlets can participate.
Almost 20 months into Mr. Trump’s second term, his long-running media clashes have grown into a sweeping campaign to control speech in America that stands out for applying so many levers, so fast, all at once.
Driven by personal pique, fury over leaks and a determination to shape the political narrative to his advantage, Mr. Trump is deploying the might of the federal government and filing personal lawsuits — targeting not just journalists and liberal critics, but also comedians and talk show hosts, and the corporate entities behind them.
[. . .]
When challenged in court, the president and the administration have frequently lost, confronted with strongly worded rulings from judges affirming First Amendment rights.
Still, even the path to legal victory can have severe financial and reputational costs for those he views as adversaries, which have included The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC. And each time the president assails what has long been considered protected speech, media analysts say, he is eroding norms and undercutting the role of an independent press.
Reporters Without Borders maintains an index that tracks press freedom in 180 countries, clocking governmental threats, subpoenas and the vindictive use of regulations against journalists. The United States now ranks at its lowest since the organization started the index in 2002 — 64th, just above Panama and just below Botswana. The trend is the same at similar indexes kept by the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the V-Dem Institute of Sweden.
Washington, D.C. – Today, bipartisan, bicameral legislation by U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act, was signed into law by President Donald Trump.
The bill provides tax relief for victims of wildfires and other natural disasters and ensures victims of natural disasters have immediate access to tax relief for years to come. The bill also extends victims’ ability to receive tax deductible payments from wildfire settlements, which often happen many years after a disaster, through January 1, 2027.
The bill was renamed last year to the Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act to honor Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who passed away in January of 2026.
“Surviving a natural disaster can place an enormous financial burden on families. It is critical that we support victims of devastating disasters like the wildfires in California and across the country. That’s why I was proud to team up with Senator Rick Scott and Representatives Greg Steube, Mike Thompson and Jimmy Panetta to provide tax relief to the victims of natural disasters and why I am so grateful to see our bipartisan bill signed into law. We must ensure that those hit the hardest when disaster strikes receive the support and the tax relief they need to recover. And in seeing our bill become law, we affirm a vital part of the late Doug LaMalfa’s legacy,” said Senator Adam Schiff.
“After disaster strikes, impacted Americans should be focused on rebuilding their lives and their communities – not surprise changes to their tax bills. After speaking with so many Americans in Florida and across the country impacted by natural disasters, including meeting Spencer Pratt at his burned-down home and touring the aftermath of the Palisades Fire, I knew we had to do something. Now that President Trump has signed this bill into law, I’m grateful to have worked with Spencer, Rep. Steube, and Sen. Schiff to ensure those affected by hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters continue to receive the real tax relief – and the peace of mind – they deserve,” said Senator Rick Scott.
U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.-17) led the legislation in the House alongside Representatives Mike Thompson (D-Calif.-04) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.-19).
The full text of the bill is available here.
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