Trump teased ‘warrior dividend’ checks. The money had been allotted by Congress for housing costs
2:53President Donald Trump delivers an address to the Nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Dec. 17, 2025.Doug Mills/Pool via AP
In his address to the nation on Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump announced that over 1.4 million military service members will be receiving a "warrior dividend" — a check for $1,776, which the president has redefined from funds Congress allocated earlier this year specifically intended to aid with housing expenses for those not residing in military accommodations.
The announcement of the checks took military service members by surprise as they listened to the president’s speech. He stated that his substantial tax cuts and spending bill, which he enacted in July, along with revenue from tariffs, facilitated the funding of this bonus.
"We are dispatching $1,776 to every soldier. Consider that. And the checks are already en route. No one was aware of this until about 30 minutes ago. We generated significantly more revenue than anticipated due to tariffs, and the bill supported us. Nobody deserves it more than our military. Congratulations to everyone," Trump remarked during his address.
President Donald Trump delivers an address to the Nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Dec. 17, 2025.Doug Mills/Pool via AP
However, it seems the president is utilizing funds that were already designated for housing allowances and is rebranding it as a "warrior dividend" — presenting it as a check for troops conveniently timed for Christmas.
When requested for further information, a senior administration official informed ABC News that the funds are derived from a housing allowance provision embedded within the president’s comprehensive bill — referred to as "The One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
According to the senior administration official, Congress allocated $2.9 billion to the Department of Defense to enhance the Basic Allowance for Housing entitlement within the bill.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrives for a classified briefing for all members of the U.S. House of Representatives on the situation in Venezuela, on Capitol Hill in Washington, December 16, 2025.Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The official stated that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has instructed the Department of Defense to distribute $2.6 billion as a one-time basic allowance for housing supplement to all qualifying service members. A Pentagon representative disclosed to ABC News that this payment will "aid in enhancing [service members'] housing and quality of life.”
A Pentagon representative indicated that military members would not have received this "warrior dividend" payment without Trump’s announcement.
Base Housing Allowances are standard benefits based on rank and provided by the U.S. military to personnel who do not reside in barracks, especially in areas with high living costs, to help them afford housing. These payments, amounting to thousands of dollars monthly, are in addition to a service member’s salary, with the amount varying according to the region’s cost of living.
Approximately 1.28 million active duty military personnel and 174,000 reserve military personnel are expected to receive this supplement, as stated by the White House. The eligible service members encompass active duty personnel below the rank of general and reservists on active orders for more than a month since Nov. 30.
This bonus will be distributed to all active-duty military members, regardless of whether they reside in barracks or not.
The payment will be issued as a separate out-of-cycle payment since military personnel were already compensated on Dec. 15. The "warrior dividend" payments are federally non-taxable but subject to state taxes — and are scheduled to be distributed by Dec. 20.
In comments made at the Pentagon on Thursday, Hegseth described the checks as a "nice little chunk of change" for the service members.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com