USA TODAY is reporting that President Donald Trump's pledge to send $5,000 checks to American adults if Republicans keep control of the House and Senate in November is drawing doubt, including from fiscal conservatives in his own party.
It said similar pledges Trump has made in the past have not panned out, and that legal challenges would loom. USA TODAY said many fiscal conservatives would almost certainly stand in the way of Congress reshuffling more than $1 trillion as the national debt reaches historic highs.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, wrote on X that he was insulted by the notion that his vote this November could be bought for $5,000, adding that the proposal would cause inflation, USA TODAY reported. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said government dependency "is evil & soul-sucking in all its forms." In a Fox News interview, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," the outlet said.
Separately, USA TODAY reported that House Democrats are eyeing the creation of a potentially powerful new select committee on artificial intelligence if they win back the majority, citing two congressional aides familiar with the matter. It said Reps. Bill Foster of Illinois and Ted Lieu of California met last week with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to discuss the idea. Foster said in a statement that Jeffries understands Congress cannot repeat Republicans' mistake of sitting on the sidelines while AI rapidly shapes the future. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, said he would be supportive of the same kind of effort in the Senate.
USA TODAY also reported that Kelly Rogers, the acting assistant secretary in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, is resigning after fewer than four months in the job amid a contentious reorganization of her office's workforce to the Health and Human Services Department.