President Donald Trump is promising $5,000 payments to American adults if Republicans win control of both houses of Congress in the November midterm elections, although significant questions remain about how such a program would be funded and implemented.

Trump announced the proposal Wednesday night during a speech at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. He called the proposed payment a “Trump dividend” and said it would go to every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans win both the House and Senate. He later added that the money would have to be spent in the United States.

The proposal would be expensive. With approximately 270 million adults in the United States, $5,000 payments could cost about $1.35 trillion. Trump did not provide details about the source of the money or how and when the payments would be distributed. The plan could also require congressional approval.

Questions also have been raised about the legality of tying a government payment to an election outcome. Federal law prohibits offering expenditures to induce someone to vote, withhold a vote or vote for or against a particular candidate. It was not immediately clear how that law would apply to Trump’s proposal, and Reuters reported that the legality of the plan remained uncertain.

The announcement came as Trump urged supporters to treat the midterm elections as though he personally were running. Republicans are seeking to maintain control of Congress in the Nov. 3 elections.

Trump has floated direct payments to Americans before. Earlier in his second term, he supported the idea of a $5,000 “DOGE dividend” based on projected federal government savings, but those payments did not materialize. He later proposed tariff-funded rebate checks of at least $2,000.

Source: CNBC