Potential DOGE Dividend Payments: 5 Key Insights We’ve Gathered So Far
Supporters of the proposal argue that roughly one-fifth of the funds saved through spending cuts from DOGE audits could be allocated to taxpaying households.
A concept that surfaced on social media platform X proposes sending checks to Americans based on savings generated from federal spending cuts resulting from audits by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This idea has garnered the backing of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the leader of DOGE.
Musk Voices Support
“I spoke with the president, and he is in favor of [the checks]” Musk stated during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday. “It sounds like that is something we are going to do.”
Musk mentioned that the funds allocated to Americans would be redirected from “things that are detrimental to our country and organizations that oppose you.”
“It’s glorious. The spoils of battle,” he remarked.
Earlier this week, Musk shared a comment on X by investor James Fishback suggesting that DOGE and the administration should create a “Doge dividend”—a tax refund check sent to every taxpayer, funded solely by a portion of the total savings achieved by DOGE.
Trump Enthusiastic About the Idea
During an investment conference in Miami on Wednesday, Trump indicated that he is considering a plan where 20% of the savings generated by DOGE’s cost-cutting initiatives would be distributed to American citizens, with an additional 20% allocated to reducing the national debt.
Trump further noted that the potential for dividend payments would motivate people to report instances of wasteful spending.
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“They’ll be reporting it themselves,” the president stated. “They engage in the process of helping us save money.”
Later, while on a flight back to Washington aboard Air Force One, a reporter inquired about Musk’s proposed plan.
“I love it,” the Republican president responded to reporters on the plane.
In a Thursday briefing, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, informed reporters that the proposed checks would be addressed during the budget reconciliation process in Congress.
Miller emphasized that Congress must first pass a measure to facilitate the issuance of those checks.
House Speaker Skeptical of Checks
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) expressed at CPAC that he was not in favor of the proposed checks and suggested that any savings related to DOGE should prioritize paying down the U.S. debt.
“Everyone enjoys receiving a check, but … we face a massive deficit. I believe we need to reduce our debt,” he told the audience at CPAC.
He highlighted that fiscal responsibility would benefit the GOP, noting, “That’s what we do,” as indicated by a live stream of the event.
Origin of the Idea
Fishback was the initial proponent of this idea on Tuesday on X, mentioning that there have been “behind-the-scenes” discussions with White House officials regarding the matter.
Fishback advocates for utilizing the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to assess the total savings DOGE will have achieved for the federal government by the end of its spending audits. If DOGE saves $500 billion by July 2026, he noted that checks would be $1,250, rather than $5,000.
“We have uncovered substantial waste, fraud, and abuse,” Fishback asserted. “We will rectify this and amend the social contract between taxpayers and the federal government.”
Fishback supports distributing checks instead of solely reducing the deficit because it would motivate Americans to identify wasteful government spending “in their communities and report it to DOGE.”
According to his plan, DOGE would need to complete its audits, which are expected to wrap up by July 2026. Once this is accomplished, one-fifth of the achieved savings could be distributed later that same year to approximately 79 million taxable households. Notably, about 40 percent of Americans do not pay income taxes, so they would not qualify for a check.
Fishback’s company, Azoria, elaborated further on the proposal in a separate post on social media.
White House Addresses Inflation Concerns
During a Thursday news conference at the White House, a journalist asked Kevin Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, whether the proposed checks could lead to inflation.
Hassett played down such concerns, asserting that since the funds would have been spent by the government anyway, having them spent by consumers would balance out. He noted that the stimulus checks distributed during the pandemic under both President Joe Biden and Trump were deficit-financed, which can be more inflationary.
Recipients of those checks are “likely to save a significant portion of it, which would ultimately lessen inflation,” he stated.
A White House official informed The Epoch Times this week that the “dividend checks” remain merely a proposal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
