President Donald Trump’s one-time $1,776 payment, named the “warrior dividend,” will come from congressionally allocated funds meant to subsidize military housing for service members.
Roughly 1.45 million active-duty and reserve service members will receive the payment in the coming days, which Trump announced during his prime-time address to the nation Wednesday night.
“In honor of our nation’s founding in 1776, we are sending every soldier $1,776,” Trump said. “Nobody deserves it more than our military, and I say congratulations to everybody.”
The payments will be made by Saturday, a Pentagon official told the Washington Examiner.
In total, this will cost roughly $2.6 billion, and the Pentagon will rely on funds included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to pay it out, a senior administration official told the Washington Examiner. The bill, which Trump signed into law on July 4, appropriated $2.9 billion to the Pentagon to supplement the Basic Allowance for Housing entitlement.
The roughly $300 million remaining will be used “to support future BAH requirements,” the Pentagon official said.
Active duty service members in grades 0-6 and below are eligible for this payment, as are reserve component troops in grades 0-6 and below and on active-duty orders of at least 31 days in duration as of Nov. 30.
TRUMP SENDS TROOPS $1,776 CHECKS, AND BIDEN, COAL, IN CHRISTMAS SPEECH TO NATION
“President Trump’s administration recognizes the hard work of our service members with this one-time warrior dividend, which places funds directly in the hands of our military members and their families, helping to improve their housing and quality of life,” the senior administration official added.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the Armed Services Committee chairman, acknowledged during a hearing on July 31 that “much of the funding of the defense reconciliation bill is unspecific and will technically be at the discretion” of the Pentagon, though the committee provided the department with recommendations for how it should be spent.
