If you're holding your breath for the tariff refunds President Donald Trump and members of his administration keep alluding to -- inhale -- because the latest indications are they're not coming, at least not anytime soon.
Trump had hinted many times $2,000 tariff rebate checks will come soon, but this week he amended himself to say, "The tariff money is so substantial... that I’ll be able to do $2,000 sometime. I would say toward the end of the year."
Trump, who also dethroned the leader of Venezuela, sent troops into Minneapolis and approved military strikes on small boats in the Caribbean without Congressional approval, said he coudl do the same here.
Specifically, he said Congress need not approve the checks as they have "other funding sources." The White House has also not released a concrete plan for the $2,000 checks, and administration members have expressed varying levels of confidence.
Speaking to the New York Times last week, Trump said, "The tariffs have made us a fortune," later saying, “the tariff money is so substantial.” He also said he thinks tariffs “made us nationally secure.”
Experts say the Supreme Court's expected ruling on Trump's tariff case will determine if the rebate checks can proceed, with Trump warning that if the court strikes down his tariffs, no checks are coming.
While the idea of checks in the mail is appealing to many Americans, it's not so much applauded by those who watch America's checkbook. Even some Republicans oppose it.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a leading fiscal hawk in the Senate, said in November, the U.S. “can’t afford” the idea, a statement with which multiple analyses have agreed.