Lutnick points to unlaunched Platinum Card to help fund proposed checks

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Thursday that proposed payments would neither use taxpayer money nor increase the deficit. He pointed partly to the unlaunched Trump Platinum Card and claimed more than 100,000 people were waiting to join.

The president said every adult U.S. citizen would receive $5,000 if Republicans kept control of both the House and Senate. Under the proposal, recipients would have to spend the money within the United States.

The administration says applicants would pay a $15,000 processing fee and contribute $5 million once the program starts. In exchange, they could spend up to 270 days annually in the United States without U.S. tax on foreign income.

The government's website says contributions would be collected when the program launches and applicants move through the process. Joining the current waiting list therefore does not mean the government has received a $5 million contribution.