House Speaker Johnson says Congress would need to approve Trump’s ‘creative idea’ of $5k checks

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s proposal to send $5,000 checks to every American adult if his Republican Party holds majorities in the House and Senate is a creative idea that needs approval from Congress.

“I would assume, yes, he’d need Congress to act, and that’s a creative idea,” he said Sunday. 

“He’s the big idea’s president. We’re going to try to implement everything we can,” he also said. “I commit that Congress will work through it and find consensus on that like they have to do everything else.” 

Trump said in Ireland that the checks will go out. 

“The 5,000’s going to happen, 100%,” he told reporters.

Trump previously told a local CBS channel that he didn't think Congress would need to authorize the checks. 

Johnson rejected criticism from Democrats that Trump is attempting to buy votes with the idea.

"No, of course not. Remember the Democrats who are making that claim are the same ones who gave out COVID checks and all sorts of stimulus checks and everything else," he said on NBC's Meet the Press.