President Donald Trump promised Thursday to send $200 gift cards to 33 million senior citizens to use to pay for prescriptions, though he did not give any details, and his administration’s authority to do so is unclear. Such a widespread disbursement would likely at least $6.6 billion and may require congressional authorization. He said during a speech on health care, “Nobody’s seen this before, these cards are incredible. The cards will be mailed out in coming weeks, I will always take care of our wonderful senior citizens. Joe Biden won’t be doing this.” The promise is reminiscent of a deal his administration tried to reach with pharmaceutical executives where drug companies would send $100 rebate cards, but the negotiations fell apart when executives refused the initiative.
