WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. war against Iran has cost the Department of Defense more than $38 billion through Aug. 1, and will continue costing…

House Speaker Mike Johnson says Congress would have to approve President Donald Trump's proposal to send $5,000 to each American adult if the Republican Party maintains control of the House and Senate in the November election. Johnson also says he's try to make that pledge happen. Trump made the unusual pitch at the party’s midterm convention in Dallas last week. He also said he didn't think Congress would need to authorize the payments, though he didn't explain how he spend more than $1 trillion without lawmakers’ authorization. He told reporters Sunday in Ireland that “the 5,000’s going to happen, 100%.”

Donald Trump’s pitch to send Americans $5,000 checks should Republicans prevail in the November midterms is drawing scorn from some members of Congress — the very people who have constitutional authority over federal spending. Economists and other political observers are voicing concerns about the potential effects on inflation and the national balance sheet. Taken together, it’s a swift reaction that makes clear that Trump's dubious election-year gambit is little more than another grand promise from a politician with a long history of them. Trump previously pledged to use savings from the Department of Government Efficiency and revenue from tariffs on foreign imports to distribute payments of $2,000 or more, but none of that came to pass.