President Donald Trump has established a new initiative known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aimed at cutting federal expenses, leading some Americans to ponder whether they might see a stimulus check resulting from these savings.
Why This Is Important
DOGE, overseen by Tesla founder Elon Musk, has advocated for significant layoffs within the federal workforce to help eliminate $2 trillion annually from major U.S. agencies’ budgets.
With no widespread stimulus checks issued since 2021, many citizens are hopeful that the reductions initiated by DOGE could pave the way for new payments to be distributed to Americans.
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Key Points to Consider
Many Americans are actively calling on DOGE to issue stimulus checks, with one popular TikTok suggesting taxpayers might receive up to $8,000 as a result of the department’s budget cuts.
James Fishback, CEO of Azoria investment firm, shared on X that part of the savings from DOGE should be returned to taxpayers as a ‘DOGE Dividend.’
“American taxpayers deserve a ‘DOGE Dividend’: 20% of the savings from DOGE should be returned to hardworking Americans as a tax refund check,” Fishback stated on social media. “It’s their money to begin with! With $2 trillion in DOGE savings and 78 million tax-paying households, this could equate to $5,000 per household, with the remainder utilized to address the national debt. @ElonMusk, let’s make it happen! This is how we restore faith in our government.”
How Much Has DOGE Saved So Far?
As of Tuesday, the live DOGE tracker indicates that $55 billion has already been saved through Musk’s proposed cuts.
The most significant reductions have targeted the federal workforce, notably affecting agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development, which has seen its funding cut by $420.14 million according to Polymarket.
Additional major reductions are anticipated for the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Musk has also expressed his intent to combat fraud in Social Security, posting on X: “According to the Social Security database, these are the number of individuals in each age group with the death field marked as FALSE! Maybe ‘Twilight’ is real, and there are numerous vampires collecting Social Security.”
Furthermore, Trump has instructed all federal employees to return to their offices and has imposed a freeze on federal hiring.
Will There Be Refund Checks from DOGE’s Savings?
Currently, there is no indication that DOGE’s budget cuts will lead to refund checks for Americans.
The targeted $2 trillion in savings will likely be allocated towards reducing the national debt and facilitating potential tax cuts.
Public Reactions
Alex Beene, financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, commented to Newsweek: “While it is not impossible for future stimulus checks to be issued, possibly as a goodwill gesture to demonstrate the supposed savings from these cuts, the reality is that the probability of checks being distributed seems quite low. Even with potential savings from recent cuts, stimulus checks are an extraordinarily costly initiative for an already debt-laden government that is not facing a pandemic-level emergency. It’s likely that lawmakers will explore new proposals like tax reductions and relaxing some restrictions on government benefit programs as alternatives to relying solely on stimulus checks for aiding Americans.”
Kevin Thompson, finance expert and founder/CEO of 9i Capital, stated to Newsweek regarding the possibility of another stimulus check under DOGE: “Absolutely not—and it wouldn’t benefit the economy. If people believed inflation was problematic last year and prices remain stubbornly high, imagine the consequences of injecting even more money into the system. It’d be akin to providing a donut to someone managing diabetes—not a wise choice.”
Michael Ryan, finance expert and founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, shared his thoughts with Newsweek: “DOGE’s identification of waste is more akin to discovering billing errors. It merely indicates a slight reduction in our borrowing, not that we suddenly have surplus funds available for distribution. When DOGE claims to have ‘saved’ $55 billion by detecting fraud and waste, it’s just like finding a coupon while being maxed out on credit cards. Sure, it’s great to spend less, but it doesn’t mean the grocery store is going to hand us cash back—we’re still in debt.”
Looking Ahead
Thompson noted that the Trump administration is concentrating on expenditure reduction rather than augmenting it with additional stimulus checks.
“Any adjustments to the budget will likely prioritize extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which would necessitate $4.5 trillion to sustain those benefits. I anticipate that policymakers will apply any savings to fund the extension of the TCJA, thereby offsetting future liabilities.”
