Overview

• Senator Josh Hawley’s American Worker Rebate Act is under review by the Senate Finance Committee with no clear GOP co-sponsors or unified support.
• The legislation would draw on more than $125 billion in Trump-era tariff revenues to fund refundable tax credits of $600 per person, capped at $2,400 per family.
• Hawley’s admission that rebates would exclude “Biden voters” and hedge-fund managers has intensified criticism that the plan serves as a partisan vote-buying tactic for MAGA supporters.
• Economists warn that diverting tariff proceeds toward rebates could exacerbate inflationary pressures and swell an already $1.4 trillion federal deficit in fiscal 2025.
• President Trump has publicly backed the rebate concept while maintaining steep new tariffs on Indian imports and threatening penalties for purchasing Russian equipment.