President Donald Trump defended his proposal to distribute $5,000 checks to Americans if Republicans retain control of the House in November, criticizing Democrats who oppose the plan as more Republicans raised concerns. Trump described the payments as a "Trump Dividend" and said the only requirement would be spending the money in the United States. Vice President JD Vance suggested the proposal could instead apply only to working Americans, while saying tariff revenue was funding the idea. The federal government collected $167 billion in tariff revenue in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, compared with the estimated $1.2 trillion cost of the payments. The checks would likely require congressional approval because Congress controls federal spending, although Trump said he did not think approval would be necessary and believed lawmakers would approve it if needed.