Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is suggesting the Trump administration could return some of the hundreds of billions of dollars in tariff revenue to Americans in the form of rebate checks.

In a clip widely shared on X by @Unusual_whales on August 10, Lutnick told podcaster Charlie Kirk that tariff revenue could reach “$600, $700, $800, $900 [billion] and over the course of his presidency, it could easily hit a trillion dollars a year,” adding that President Donald Trump is “thinking about” sharing that money with the public.

“He cares so much about the American people,” Lutnick said in the video.

“The President is thinking about, look, I’ve created this value from all our people. Why not share that money with the people?” Lutnick added.

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Lutnick also claimed that the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” did not account for tariff revenues, describing them as an unexpected windfall. “[Trump] is thinking about it, he hasn’t made a decision,” Lutnick said of the rebate concept.

The comments come as the federal government reports a surge in customs revenue following recent tariff hikes. The agency has taken in roughly $100 billion in tariff payments since April, including $30 billion in July alone, according to CNN’s analysis of Daily Treasury Statements.

The tariffs have also boosted enforcement revenue. CBP officials told Newsweek the agency has secured more than $27 billion in additional funds this fiscal year through targeted reviews of shipments flagged for suspected duty evasion, a jump of over 3,900% from the $668 million recorded in fiscal 2024.

Still, the notion of returning tariff windfalls to taxpayers mirrors earlier proposals that have failed to advance.

Earlier this year, Trump and then-Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk publicly entertained a “DOGE Dividend” idea championed by adviser James Fishback. That plan called for sending $5,000 checks to households that pay net federal income taxes, funded entirely from DOGE’s projected $2 trillion in government savings, The Dallas Express previously reported.

Musk pledged to raise the concept with the President, and Trump later said, “there’s even under consideration a new concept where we give 20% of the @DOGE savings to American citizens.” But Trump received immediate opposition from congressional Republicans such as Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who reportedly said that “sending checks is not the smartest way to spend savings.”

By the time Musk left DOGE in May, projected savings had been slashed from $2 trillion to $180 billion, and no legislation authorizing checks had been introduced. The Commercial Appeal reported in June that no timeline existed for any payout and that Congress would have to approve the plan.

Lutnick’s comments did not detail how a tariff rebate would be structured, who might qualify, or how much they could receive. Like the DOGE proposal, any such plan may require congressional approval.

Lutnick took office as the 41st Commerce Secretary on February 21, 2025.