Bessent says Americans may see tax savings instead.
President Donald Trump on Sunday floated the idea of payments of at least $2,000 to most Americans to show the benefits of his tariff policy.
"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," Trump said in Truth Social post. "A dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone."
Further details were not revealed. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical that Trump had the authority to impose so-called reciprocal tariffs under emergency powers. Trump has warned that overturning the tariffs would be a "disaster" for the U.S., and has said the tariff revenue would largely be used to pay off the national debt.
Trump's raft of tariffs have already collected tens of billions of dollars. Trump has previously mentioned the possibility of sending stimulus checks from tariff revenue, proposing in October checks worth $1,000 to $2,000, and $600 rebate checks were floated in August.
Sending out such checks would likely require congressional approval.
But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking Sunday on ABCs "This Week," downplayed the prospect of rebate checks, suggesting Americans could see tax savings instead.
"I haven't spoken to the president about this yet, but, you know, it could - the $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways... You know, it could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president's agenda. You know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security. Deductibility of auto loans," Bessent said.