WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that Congress has not yet considered President Donald Trump’s proposal to send $5,000 to every U.S. adult if Republicans retain control of Congress in November. Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Johnson described the proposal as a “creative idea” but suggested Trump may have been speaking broadly about the financial effects of keeping Republicans in power rather than promising a traditional check. “I think what he was articulating there, Jake, is that he’s saying that if you want more money in your pocket, you have to keep Republicans in charge,” Johnson told host Jake Tapper. Johnson also acknowledged that Congress would have to authorize the payments. “We have had zero time, of course, to process that, deliberate, discuss it,” he said. Trump made the promise last week at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas, tying it to what he called his administration’s “tremendous economic success.” In a later interview, he appeared to minimize the need for congressional approval, saying lawmakers would act if necessary but suggesting the country’s economic performance might make the payments unnecessary. The proposal has not been accompanied by a legislative plan or explanation of how the government would pay for it. Republican critics have warned that a nationwide payment could add substantially to the federal deficit. Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican who is leaving Congress, said the country is already more than $40 trillion in debt and cannot afford “another massive spending package” without a clear source of funding. Criticism has also come from outside Congress. Some conservatives have characterized the proposal as an attempt to influence voters, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, called it an effort to “bribe the American people for their votes.” Trump has continued to stand behind the pledge. In a Friday post on Truth Social, he wrote that the $5,000 payment “will happen because the people of our country deserve it.” The proposal follows earlier promises of federal rebates that never materialized. Trump previously supported a plan associated with billionaire Elon Musk to distribute money saved by the Department of Government Efficiency and separately backed the idea of tariff-funded checks. Neither program resulted in payments to Americans.