Millions of Americans receiving refund cheques from Amazon are finding the president credited in the paperwork that comes with the money: the settlement notice identifies the agreement three times as the result of “President Trump's Federal Trade Commission,” Politico reported on Wednesday — a branding choice two former FTC officials called unprecedented.
The payments stem from Amazon's $2.5 billion settlement with the FTC in 2025 over allegations that the company misled customers into enrolling in Prime and made it difficult to cancel. The FTC's own refunds page breaks the settlement down as $1.5 billion for refunds to affected customers plus a $1 billion civil penalty, and says Amazon must end the enrollment and cancellation practices at issue.
Source: Federal Trade Commission — Amazon Refunds (official page)
Payments began going out in November 2025, and another batch followed a federal judge's order expanding eligibility, Politico reported. Customers can receive as much as $200. The FTC says Amazon had issued over $845 million in refunds by September 2026 and will continue sending automatic refunds to eligible Prime customers through April 2027.
Source: Federal Trade Commission — Amazon Refunds (official page)
Former agency officials objected to the wording. Stephen Calkins, a Wayne State University law professor who served as the FTC's general counsel from 1995 to 1997, told Politico he knew of no earlier instance in which a refund notice identified the president, and called the decision “unseemly and unfortunate,” saying the agency was being used to promote Trump. Bill Kovacic, who led the FTC under President George W. Bush, said the branding “diminishes the aura of professionalism that is useful to the agency when it performs traditional law enforcement functions.”
The FTC defended the language, saying: “It is settled law that President Trump is the leader of the executive branch and his FTC is responsible for this historic settlement.” The agency has increasingly used the label “Trump-Vance FTC” in public statements. The underlying case began before Trump returned to office — the Biden administration filed the lawsuit against Amazon in 2023 — and Amazon did not respond to Politico's request for comment.
The FTC warns that it is NOT calling people about these refunds: anyone who phones claiming to be from the FTC or Amazon and asks for money to release a refund is running a scam. Eligible Prime customers are paid automatically; questions go to the settlement administrator at admin@SubscriptionMembershipSettlement.com.
What is solid
- The notice accompanying the refunds calls the settlement a result of “President Trump's Federal Trade Commission” three times — Politico.
- The settlement totals $2.5 billion: $1.5 billion in customer refunds plus a $1 billion civil penalty — Federal Trade Commission.
- At least 24.9 million checks had been issued by September and about 7 million cashed — court filing reported by Politico.
What is only claimed
- Whether the branding is improper is a matter of opinion: two former FTC officials criticised it as unprecedented and “unseemly”; the FTC defends it as accurate.
- Any effect of the wording on midterm voters is unknown; Kovacic himself questioned whether it would change how voters view the elections.