President Donald Trump has indicated he is contemplating distributing 20 percent of the savings realized by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) directly to American citizens.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House via email for comments outside of regular office hours.
Why This Matters
On the president’s directive, DOGE has been assigned the task of reducing federal expenditures and eliminating alleged fraud and waste. This unofficial, temporary initiative claims to have saved billions of dollars since commencing its audits of government entities, although it has faced significant opposition and legal challenges.
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Essential Information
At the FII Priority Summit held in Miami Beach on Wednesday, Trump stated, “There’s even under consideration a new concept where we give 20 percent of the DOGE savings to American citizens, and 20 percent goes to paying down debt.”
On Tuesday, billionaire Elon Musk, who oversees DOGE, commented on X—his social media platform previously known as Twitter—stating that he would “check with the President” about the proposal for sending U.S. households tax refund checks funded by savings from DOGE’s cost-reduction efforts.
Musk’s remarks followed a suggestion from James Fishback, CEO of the Azoria investment firm, advocating for compensation to American taxpayers for “the egregious misuse and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars that DOGE has unveiled.”
In a four-page proposal, Fishback suggested that sending $5,000 checks directly to American taxpayers would help “restore public trust between taxpayers and their government, fulfilling this social contract and improving tax morale.”
President Trump and @ElonMusk should announce a ‘DOGE Dividend’—a tax refund check sent to every taxpayer, funded exclusively with a portion of the total savings delivered by DOGE. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/p5AZZj3Ttc
— James Fishback (@j_fishback) February 18, 2025
Musk has previously mentioned that DOGE aims to eliminate $2 trillion from the federal budget. According to Fishback’s proposal, once DOGE concludes its operations in July 2026, all taxpaying families would receive a refund check based on 20 percent of the savings achieved by DOGE.
Fishback emphasized that only working American taxpayers should receive the “DOGE Dividend,” claiming that “the prospect of a $5,000 DOGE Dividend in 2026 will encourage many to return to the workforce in 2025 to qualify” for the payment.
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Fishback is in discussions with the Trump administration regarding his proposal.
Distributing checks to every taxpaying household in the U.S. would mark the first instance since the COVID-era stimulus checks initiated during the latter part of Trump’s first term.
Prior Stimulus Initiatives
During his first term, the government distributed two rounds of COVID-related stimulus checks. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) passed in March 2020 provided Economic Impact Payments of up to $1,200 per eligible adult and $500 per qualifying child under 17 years old, with reductions for taxpayers earning over $75,000 annually.
In December 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, facilitated another $600 payment to eligible individuals.
A 2022 report from the Federal Reserve Board noted that the fiscal stimulus disbursed nationwide “contributed to a rise in inflation of about 2.5 percentage points.”
“Our findings indicate that fiscal stimulus boosted goods consumption without any significant impact on production, intensifying excess demand pressures in goods markets,” the report said. “Consequently, fiscal support contributed to price tensions.”
Preston Brashers, a research fellow for tax policy at the conservative Heritage Foundation, remarked on X: “While DOGE’s initiative is commendable, this proposal isn’t wise. Sending out ‘dividend checks’ is unnecessary. The advantage of cutting spending is that it helps control inflation. However, if the government issues stimulus checks, inflation could rebound significantly.”
Fishback defended his proposal, asserting that the DOGE checks would not contribute to inflation since they would be “entirely funded by DOGE’s savings, in contrast to COVID stimulus checks which were financed through deficits.”
He also mentioned that the dividends would be “distributed solely to taxpayer households, who typically exhibit a tendency to save (rather than spend) the additional funds received.”
According to Fishback, the “DOGE Dividend differs from previous stimulus checks” as it would exclusively benefit taxpaying households.
“Taxpaying households are more inclined to save (rather than expend) a transfer payment like the DOGE Dividend, as consumption constitutes a smaller share of their income,” he stated, adding: “Debt repayment, saving for emergencies, or investing in education or retirement isn’t inflationary. In fact, paying down debt is fundamentally deflationary.”
Reactions
James Fishback stated in his proposal: “When a breach of this magnitude occurs in the private sector, the counterparty typically refunds the customer due to their failure to fulfill the promised agreement. It’s time for the federal government to follow suit and return funds to taxpayers based on what DOGE has exposed.”
Elon Musk commented on X: “Clearly, the President holds the ultimate authority, so the decision lies entirely with him.”
Financial literacy instructor Alex Beene from the University of Tennessee at Martin previously told Newsweek: “While a future stimulus check isn’t out of the question, and could be perceived as a goodwill gesture to inform taxpayers of the alleged savings from these cuts during a period of high inflation, the reality is that the chances of checks being sent out are relatively low.
“Even with potential savings from recent cuts, stimulus checks represent a heavy financial burden for a government already grappling with significant debt and currently lacking the necessity of a pandemic-level emergency. I expect legislators to explore new routes like tax reductions and easing some government benefits to divert attention from stimulus checks as the primary means of assisting Americans.”
Next Steps
Fishback’s proposal is still in the preliminary stages and would need congressional approval before any payments could be made. If approved, the payments are expected to reach American households in 2026.
