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The return of Donald Trump: Does it mean the return of stimulus checks?
Stimulus checks sent during the first Trump administration prompted questions as to whether another payment could be on the way.

The short answer is no. Nevertheless, some voters who supported President-elect Donald Trump believe another round of payments could come as the new administration prepares to take power.
In March 2020, when Congress passed the HEROES Act, which included $1,200 payments for the vast majority of households, Donald Trump delayed their distribution by requiring that the physical checks include his name at the bottom as if he had personally issued them. This small cosmetic change proved successful, allowing him to take credit for an initiative passed on a bipartisan basis during a time of intense economic anxiety. In December 2024, President Joe Biden spoke to the success of Trump’s move to sign the checks, describing the fact that he didn’t do the same as a mistake.
Why Republicans initially supported the sending of stimulus checks
With Republicans in control of both houses of Congress and the White House they will have more power to determine the economic agenda of the country. However, this time around, barring an economic crisis that would lead the GOP to see political advantage in sending money directly to the public, stimulus checks are unlikely to make the list of priorities. Congressional Republicans are working on a bill with many of the president-elect’s priorities, including the extension of the tax cuts passed in 2017 that were set to expire at the end of the year.
As the pandemic took hold in the United States and led to job losses for millions of workers, the GOP could see the bigger picture: an economic crisis could threaten their chances of re-election later that year. For that reason—and unlike the early years of the Obama administration following the Great Recession—Republicans recognized that aid needed to be sent to households to avoid being blamed for the economic pain families would endure if they failed to act.
The GOP changes its tune
After President Biden sent another round of checks soon after taking office, Republicans shifted their stance on the payments, blaming them for creating inflationary pressures.
At that point, however, most accounts attributed inflation primarily to supply chain issues that delayed production, limited supply, and drove prices up as some goods became more scarce. Additionally, the Fed noted that generous government support, which included stimulus checks, increased aggregate consumer demand, which allowed for a quicker recovery in terms of GDP growth and reduced unemployment.
Economic pain is not enough to warrant the sending of stimulus checks
Though many households are feeling economic pressure, much of it is structural. In other words, high prices are not the result of economic shocks but rather the structure of markets for critical goods and services. For instance, healthcare costs have continued to rise—not because of an economic crisis but because the complex market creates perverse incentives for private companies to push prices higher to sustain profit growth.
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