US troops will get $1,776 payments from a pre-existing housing allowance fund, not new tariff revenue, contradicting Trump’s announcement.
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s announced $1,776 payments to US troops will be drawn from existing military housing funds.
Officials clarified on Thursday that the money comes from a Congressional allocation, not from new tariff revenue as the president suggested.
Trump announced the “warrior dividend” in a national address on Wednesday, framing it as a new initiative funded by his sweeping tariffs.
Democratic lawmakers sharply criticised the move, calling it a misleading repurposing of allocated funds.
“$1,776 ‘warrior checks’ aren’t Christmas bonuses — you’re just stealing money out of a fund meant to help our troops find affordable housing,” Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth wrote on social media.
Democratic Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman accused Trump of “just shuffling around money so he can claim he is” giving a bonus.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the payments resulted from Trump’s “unwavering commitment to our warriors” and provisions in recent legislation.
Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, confirmed the money implements additional funding Congress provided “to help offset housing costs for service members.”
The funding source is a $2.9 billion provision in a July law to supplement the military’s basic allowance for housing. – AFP
