How anti-bribery laws apply to Trump's promise of $5,000 payments if Republicans keep control of Congress theconversation.com Lutnick says Trump's $5,000 checks for Americans wouldn't rely on taxpayer funds NBC News Trum...
President Donald Trump speaks at the RNC midterm convention in Dallas on Sept. 9, 2026. Eric Lee/Pool photo via AP
How anti‑bribery laws apply to Trump's promise of $5,000 payments if Republicans keep control of Congress
https://theconversation.com/how-anti-bribery-laws-apply-to-trumps-promise-of-5-000-payments-if-republicans-keep-control-of-congress-291722
https://theconversation.com/how-anti-bribery-laws-apply-to-trumps-promise-of-5-000-payments-if-republicans-keep-control-of-congress-291722
In his keynote address to the Republican midterm convention on Sept. 9, 2026, President Donald Trump promised that if Republicans retain control of Congress in November, he would authorize a US$5,000 payment to every American adult .
Trump's offer seems to run afoul of federal laws, which make it a crime to pay for votes .
After Trump's speech, political commentator Sam Stein posted on X: "trump openly bribing people to vote for republicans. $5k per person if republicans hold the house and the senate?"
Stein was not alone in referencing bribery. Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, issued the following statement after Trump's speech : "Trump knows he can't do this, and yet he's attempting to bribe voters with the false promise of cash to help his party win an election."
But as a scholar of political and legal rhetoric , I think it's worth further examining what the president said and whether his promise violated any law.
Paying voters to support a particular candidate, or promising government jobs in exchange for votes, has a long history in the United States. It was a staple of machine politics in big cities starting in the late 19th century.
The political scholar Simeon Nichter argues that it would be better to describe these practices as examples of "turnout buying." He notes that "observers in various U.S. cities have complained that some politicians use 'street money' - small, unreported cash payments ostensibly used for legal get-out-the-vote efforts such as canvassing and transporting voters - as direct payments for turnout."
Recall Elon Musk's effort to ensure a Republican victory in a 2025 state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin. He spent millions in that effort and, as The Associated Press reported , offered "$1 million to people who voted in the Supreme Court election" to encourage them to vote.
In July 2026, the Wisconsin Elections Commission found enough evidence to refer citizen complaints about Musk's behavior to a district attorney, "which can choose," as the AP notes, "to bring criminal charges over violating the state law against election bribery."
A month later, a state prosecutor said he could not prove Musk's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and would not bring charges.
Because state and federal laws differ, we can't extrapolate from the Wisconsin decision to Trump's $5,000 promise.
Two provisions of federal law relating to vote buying were adopted by Congress and became law in 1948. Both treated that practice as a form of election interference.
The first reads as follows : "Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote; Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned … or both."
The second prohibits offering government benefits "to any person as consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in connection with any … election to any political office."
Reporting synthesized and verified under Nexvoro.tech editorial guidelines. Full primary records referenced via Google News US Nation & Law.
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