Trump announced the so-called “warrior dividend” in an address to the nation on Wednesday. He said it would be paid for with revenue from the sweeping tariffs he has imposed and presented it as a new initiative.

Lawmakers from the opposition Democratic Party sharply criticised the president over the announcement, while a top Republican senator confirmed that the funding Trump is employing was aimed at offsetting housing costs for troops.

The “US$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, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), wrote on X.

Democratic representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, also took aim at Trump, saying he “isn’t giving our brave service members a bonus, he’s just shuffling around money so he can claim he is.”

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the planned payments are the result of Trump’s “unwavering commitment to our warriors and the provisions provided in the One Big Beautiful Bill” – a reference to a major legislative package that Trump signed into law in July.

Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of SASC, praised the announcement by Trump, saying it would implement additional funding provided by Congress in that law “to help offset housing costs for service members.”

The law provided for US$2.9 billion in funding “to supplement the basic allowance for housing” for members of the military.