WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's proposal to send $5,000 to every American adult if his Republican Party maintains control of the House and Senate in the November election needs congressional approval, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday, while pledging to try to make it happen.
Trump made the unusual pitch at the party's midterm convention in Dallas last week, promising a “Trump Dividend” if voters keep the GOP in power on Capitol Hill. The president later told CBS News Texas that he did not think Congress would need to authorize the payments, though he did not specify how he could spend more than $1 trillion without lawmakers' authorization.
But Johnson, R-La., said congressional approval is needed. “I would assume, yes, he'd need Congress to act, and that's a creative idea,” he said.
A few hours later, Trump said he would deliver on his promise. “The 5,000’s going to happen, 100%,” he told reporters before boarding Air Force One in Ireland, where he attended a pro golf tournament at his resort.
Johnson, meanwhile, said he would work to get Trump's proposal through Congress despite a small Republican margin.
“He’s the big ideas president. We’re going to try to implement everything we can,” he said. "I commit that Congress will work through it and find consensus on that like they have to do everything else.”
The dubious election-year gambit could cost more than $1 trillion, putting further strains on the country's nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and exacerbating concerns of inflation. The economy is confronted by persistent inflation and increasing interest rates, a tough combination for governing Republicans as they seek to hold on to control of Congress.
The president argues that payments would be possible because of the strong economy, but consumer sentiment is weak as gasoline prices rise because of the war with Iran and wages struggle to keep pace with inflation.
Trump told reporters earlier Sunday that the payments would be “easy enough” because the United States has a strong economy.
“We can easily handle that because we're taking in so much money,” he said. “We've never done better.”
Just one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the presidency, according to a July poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That compares with 37% in June and 42% who approved of his work when he took office. Majorities also disapprove of his handling of the economy and immigration, issues that were central to Trump’s election in 2024.
On Sunday, Trump said the gas price will “drop like a rock” but indicated no deal any time soon with Iran to end the conflicts and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Johnson appeared on CNN's “State of the Union” and NBC's “Meet the Press.”
President Donald Trump greets supporters as he arrives on the stage at the Republican convention Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson of Louisiana, speaks at the Republican convention Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Pope Leo XIV had the lower section of his right lung removed after doctors diagnosed him with the most common form of lung cancer. While lung cancer is a leading killer, survival rates can be high if it's caught early, as the pope’s tumor appears to have been. Here are some things to know.
The Vatican announced the pope’s diagnosis as lung adenocarcinoma, which is one of many forms of lung cancer.
There are two main groups, small cell and non-small cell lung cancers. The non-small cell kind make up the vast majority of the world’s cases and adenocarcinoma is its most common subtype. Even it comes in varieties that can grow faster or slower.
“While it’s still very dangerous, it has slightly higher cure rates than other types of lung cancer,” said Dr. John Heymach of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. But as many as 1 in 5 lung cancers occur in people who have never smoked and it's not clear why, maybe in some cases just random chance, Heymach said.
Other risks include exposure to radon gas, asbestos, radiation, secondhand smoke and air pollution, according to the American Cancer Society.
Lung cancer symptoms don’t usually appear until the cancer is advanced, according to the cancer society. They can include a persistent cough, chest pain, a hoarse voice, shortness of breath, and recurrent pneumonia or bronchitis — symptoms important to get checked.
Sometimes, lung cancer can be found early when someone has an X-ray or other scan that shows a spot in a lung that needs further investigation. That’s called an incidental finding, leading doctors to investigate well before symptoms and possibly early enough that the cancer remains small and hasn't spread. In the pope’s case, a nodule in his lung was spotted during another exam.
In the U.S., yearly screening with a low-dose CT scan, a type of X-ray, is recommended for certain people at high risk because of heavy smoking.
Surgery is a mainstay when lung cancer is detected early, and increasingly is used even in more advanced stages. The pope had the lower section, or lobe, of his right lung removed to try to ensure that all of the cancer was removed.
The right lung has three sections or lobes while the left has two. Each lobe has its own airway branch and dedicated blood vessels and when one is removed, “the other lobes actually pick up some of the work,” said Dr. Ben Zhang, a thoracic surgeon at Allina Health in Minneapolis.
The lungs gradually compensate over several months until most people, especially those who already were physically active, notice little to no difference with exertion, he said.
The pope is known to engage in weekly tennis games and swimming.
In the U.S., the average hospital stay after lung cancer surgery is two nights, Zhang said. It depends in part on how quickly the patient can get up and walk around, as well as pain and how long a tube that can drain air and fluid from the chest is needed.
The pope was walking the next day, which Heymach called “typically a harbinger of a quicker recovery.”
Whether additional treatment is needed depends on the tumor’s stage, based on factors such as its size and whether it shows signs of spreading via the lymph nodes, and if markers on its cells suggest it may be aggressive. Additional treatment can be chemotherapy, used before surgery to shrink a tumor or afterward to attack any lingering cells. Other options include radiation, immunotherapy or what are called targeted drugs aimed at specific molecular drivers of a tumor.
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Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, where he's expected to be operated to remove a lung nodule. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Medical Director Andrea Cambieri, right, greets Pope Leo XIV as he arrives at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, where doctors expect to operate to remove a lung nodule. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
