ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that Americans will receive at least $2,000 each from tariff revenues, though the proposal would likely require congressional approval.

"A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high-income people!) will be paid to everyone," Trump wrote on his social media platform the Truth Social.

The announcement comes as the Supreme Court questions the constitutionality of his tariff campaign and amid a government shutdown that has disrupted food assistance payments.

Later, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC: "The $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms."

Bessent said it may come in the form of tax decreases, including no tax on tips and no tax on overtime.

Trump defended his trade policy, saying: "People that are against tariffs are fools! We are now the richest, most respected country in the world, with almost no inflation, and a record stock market price."

He claimed tariffs are generating trillions of dollars that will "soon begin paying down our enormous debt, $37 trillion."

The dividend proposal comes as the US struggles to pay food assistance benefits due to the ongoing government shutdown, which is in its 40th day.

Any such payment program would need to be passed by Congress, which remains gridlocked over budget negotiations that triggered the shutdown.