U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) touted business investments in the recently-launched “Trump accounts” program at an event in Austin on Monday, August 31.
The accounts, named for President Donald Trump, are seeded with $1,000 of taxpayer funds and allow contributions of up to $5,000 per year from parents and their employers for American children born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028. Employers that contribute can see those contributions deducted from their tax bills.
Qualifying children are forbidden from withdrawing the money until they turn 18. After that, they can withdraw the money for certain qualifying life events like buying a home for the first time, or for any reason after paying a 10 percent penalty.
Several Democratic lawmakers, who were critical of many aspects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Trump signed into law last year, had praise for Cruz’s idea, with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) telling Semafor that “even a stopped watch” is right twice a day.
In an op-ed written for The Washington Post last year, Cruz, the primary proponent of the idea, said that “this policy would ensure that every American has skin in the game — it is a generational investment in America’s youth, and I believe it will fundamentally rebuild their faith in American capitalism.”
At the event, Cruz opened by calling the accounts “one of the most transformational policies ever enacted into law.”
“Every child in America is going to experience the miracle of compound growth,” he said. “I believe in a few years we will see this as a standard employee benefit across the country.”
Cruz noted that Michael and Susan Dell had donated $6.25 billion to Trump account holders. He then introduced American Airlines CEO Robert Isom, who announced that his company would match the federal government’s $1,000 seed for the children of their employees.
Seeking more investment from business leaders in Trump accounts has been a priority for Cruz. Last year, he wrote a letter with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), urging Fortune 500 CEOs to contribute.
“As America approaches the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our Nation will rightly celebrate and honor the principles that still define our country today,” they wrote. “The company you lead has a unique opportunity to participate in this celebration. We encourage you to join us in this effort to deliver generational impacts for the financial security and personal freedoms of American citizens for generations to come.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called last year to create a “New Little Texan Savings Fund” that would invest in the Trump accounts of Texas children. In a post on X, he wrote, “If I see a great idea from the President that helps Texans, my first question is always, ‘why not do it in Texas, too?’”
He added that implementing such a fund would be “One of my top priorities in the 2027 legislative session.”