December 19, 2025, 5:11 p.mDecember 19, 2025, 5:11 p.m
US President Trump and Secretary of War Peter Hegseth.Image: keystone
US President Donald Trump has promised checks totaling $1,776 to almost 1.5 million military personnel as a special Christmas present and said the money would come from revenue from his tariffs.
But the Washington Post and other US media reported that the money for the “Warrior Dividend” actually came from a budget that Congress had approved to finance rent subsidies for members of the armed forces. Trump has no authority to spend tariff revenue without Congressional approval.
The Defense One portal reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the Pentagon to pay out $2.6 billion from the budget as a one-time payment to all eligible soldiers. The portal cited information from a high-ranking government official.
The amount on the checks refers to the year the USA declared independence: 1776. (sda/dpa)