“Every service member recently received a warrior dividend of $1,776. ... We got the money from tariffs and other things.”

State of the Union address to Congress (referring to Warrior Dividend funding source)

The money did not come from tariffs. In the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, enacted in July 2025, Congress appropriated $2.9 billion to supplement the basic allowance for housing, and the Treasury and IRS say that appropriation is what paid for the Warrior Dividend. An administration official confirmed the source to Defense One: "Congress appropriated $2.9 billion to the Department of War to supplement the Basic Allowance for Housing entitlement within The One Big Beautiful Bill."

Tariff revenue did rise sharply, to $195 billion in customs duties in fiscal 2025, which is the basis for his point that tariffs brought in a lot of money. But the payment was funded by the housing appropriation Congress had already made, not by tariff receipts.

Nor did every service member receive it. Eligibility was limited to active-duty members in pay grades O-6 and below and to Reserve component members on active-duty orders of 31 days or more as of Nov. 30, about 1.45 million service members in all.