President Donald Trump’s administration is already prepared to roll out fresh tariffs if the looming U.S. Supreme Court decision goes against the current ones.
A Financial Times report indicates that the Trump administration plans to employ alternative legislation and current trade measures to reinstate the tariffs, regardless of any court ruling that may invalidate the existing ones. The report indicated that a series of plans are in place, according to diplomats and trade lawyers familiar with the issue.
The exact legal steps the administration will take depend on the details of the court’s decision, especially if the court finds that using emergency powers was illegal, the report said.
With the 2026 elections approaching, discussion continues around President Trump’s plan to issue $2,000 tariff-funded stimulus checks.
Trump has said the rebates would be distributed to low- and middle-income Americans in mid-to-late 2026, financed through revenue generated by his broad import tariffs.
Several obstacles remain, however, including a pending U.S. Supreme Court case that will determine the legality of the tariffs, uncertainty over whether tariff revenue would be sufficient to fund large-scale payments, and the need for congressional approval, reports said this week.
Although Trump has publicly promoted the idea since July, there is no assurance the plan will be implemented. Some Republican lawmakers have expressed reservations, questioning both the feasibility of the proposal and its prospects in Congress.
Among them is Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, who has said he would prefer tariff revenue be directed toward reducing the nation’s roughly $38 trillion debt rather than issuing rebate checks.
Several members of Trump’s administration have weighed in on the proposed tariff rebate plan. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has suggested an income cutoff of $100,000 for eligibility, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has defended the concept of the stimulus payments.
More recently, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the proposal’s future remains uncertain. Speaking on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Hassett said the plan’s fate “depends on what happens with Congress.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the president’s proposal to distribute rebate checks would require congressional approval, emphasizing the importance of utilizing tariff revenue to reduce the deficit.
“We will see. We need legislation for that,” Bessent told Fox News.
After Trump announced that members of the U.S. military would receive a “Warrior Dividend” for Christmas, questions remain about whether the broader public will receive a proposed $2,000 tariff dividend.
He said then that the dividend would be distributed to “everyone” except high-income earners. On November 12, several days later, Bessent announced that the payments would only be available to families earning $100,000 or less.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance recently acknowledged that the Trump administration faces growing skepticism over its economic record, issuing a plea for patience ahead of what he predicted would be an eventual “economic boom.”
He noted that, after years of inflation under then-President Joe Biden, turning the economy around—signs of which are already visible—would take some time.
“We get it, and we hear you, and we know that there’s a lot of work to do,” Vance said during a Breitbart News event. “As much progress as we’ve made, it’s going to take a little time for Americans to feel that.”
It also highlighted the White House’s continued effort to refine its economic message ahead of next year’s midterm elections—and in the wake of Republican losses in deep blue New Jersey and Virginia earlier this month.
Vance acknowledged that Americans remain frustrated by persistent affordability challenges that have dragged down the administration’s approval ratings, including the cost of groceries.
“If you’re an American who’s just struggling to get by, you work hard, you pay your taxes, and you want your kids to have good opportunities. And then the price of eggs goes from $2 a dozen to $8 a dozen under the Biden administration, and then it goes from $8 a dozen to maybe $6.50 a dozen,” Vance said. “Well, to you, that is still a major problem.”
