The odds of Trump's $2,000 tariff dividend checks are 'now effectively zero,' expert says [View all]

The Supreme Court struck down a centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda on Friday, also dealing a blow to the possibility of sending so-called tariff dividend checks to families, experts say.

“Tariff dividends were a long shot from the beginning,” said certified financial planner Stephen Kates, a financial analyst at Bankrate. “Given the White House’s lack of authority to unilaterally issue stimulus checks to Americans, the idea was largely aspirational,” he said.

Any such broad-based benefit program would require legislation passed by Congress. Following a major Supreme Court defeat and with an ongoing partisan battle in Washington, congressional approval would be especially difficult, he said.

“Even if tariffs were to return to prior levels and generate revenue for a broad stimulus program, there does not appear to be sufficient political support to move such a measure through Congress,” Kates said. “The odds of this policy moving forward is now effectively zero.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/23/trumps-2000-tariff-dividend-checks-are-less-likely-experts-say.html