Stimulus check update: Andrew Yang says Democrats should back Trump plan

Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang endorsed President Donald Trump‘s plan to send money directly to Americans, saying that Democrats “should get on board with” the proposals.

“Democrats in theory should be all for anything that helps the working class of this country,” Yang said during an interview with Fox News on Saturday.

Newsweek reached out by email to the offices of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both New York Democrats, outside of normal business hours on Saturday evening for comment.

Why It Matters

Trump continues to wrangle with economic issues almost a full year into his second administration, with fluctuating jobs numbers and inflation still high enough to impact households.

To deal with those issues, Trump has suggested sending money directly to Americans—first as a “dividend” payment for all the money he says the U.S. has made on tariffs, and then as an alternative to passing Democrat-backed health care subsidies, which Trump said simply goes into the pockets of health insurance companies and would be better off in the hands of Americans.

The White House has also created a website that allows consumers to purchase prescription drugs directly rather than go through insurance starting in January 2026.

What To Know

Yang has unsuccessfully run for the Democratic nominations first for president in 2020 – and backed by Elon Musk – and then for mayor of New York City in 2021. He then departed the Democratic Party in October 2021, becoming an independent and criticizing the current political system as fostering polarization.

Yang sat down with former Trump White House press secretary and current Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany on Saturday to discuss the president’s meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani that happened at the White House on Friday.

McEnany noted that Yang in the past has supported universal basic income (UBI) payments and asked if he would support some of Trump’s proposals to put money directly into the hands of Americans.

“Anything that puts buying power into the hands of the average American family is a huge win,” Yang said. “By the way, that money is going to go right into local businesses, into keeping the economy robust. One of the things I used to say is that capitalism works a lot better when people have money to spend.”

“I think it’s a great idea, regardless of what the source of the money is,” he continued, noting he had based his UBI plan on taxing companies using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve their work output while minimizing their workforces. He added that Democrats should “get onboard” with Trump’s plan for “getting stimulus-style money into your household.”

He also denounced the polarization in politics, saying that it has become “more about scoring points and looking like you’re fighting ‘the enemy’ in this case, the other party, than in getting things done and improving Americans’ lives.”

“That’s why I became an independent,” Yang said.

What People Are Saying

President Donald Trump in a message posted on Truth Social earlier this month wrote: “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. 401k’s are Highest EVER. We are taking in Trillions of Dollars and will soon begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT, $37 Trillion. Record Investment in the USA, plants and factories going up all over the place. A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, recently told reporters: “I think the amount of money coming in from the tariffs is considered to be substantial at this point and hopefully can be put to a useful purpose. Again, in my view, one of which would be repaying the debt.”  

Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said in a late-July press release: “Americans deserve a tax rebate after four years of Biden policies that have devastated families’ savings and livelihoods. Like President Trump proposed, my legislation would allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trump’s tariffs are returning to this country.”

What Happens Next?

The proposal faces major legislative and fiscal hurdles, with Senate GOP resistance and deficit concerns making congressional passage unlikely.  

Without congressional authorization, administration officials have not confirmed whether there is a clear legal pathway to distribute the possible checks. 

The Supreme Court’s pending ruling on presidential tariff authority could limit the executive’s power to levy new tariffs and redirect resulting revenue, a development that would further complicate the viability of the $2,000 dividend plan.