Trump responds to Elon Musk's plan for thousands in 'DOGE dividends' to be refunded to Americans
The president seems to be in favor of Musk's plan to give 20% of savings to taxpayers
President Donald Trump has responded to Elon Musk’s plan for thousands of dollars in ‘DOGE dividends’ to be refunded to Americans.
Musk made the suggestion along with his supporters to cut a check for Americans for the ‘savings’ that have allegedly been made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
And it looks like Trump is a fan of the idea.
Speaking at a conference in Miami on Wednesday (February 19), the president backed the Tesla boss’ plan to give 20% of the money saved straight back into the pockets of the American taxpayers.
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Trump said: “The numbers are incredible, Elon. So many billions, it’s billions, hundreds of billions. We’re thinking of giving 20% back to the American citizens and 20% to pay back debt, pay down debt.
“By doing this, Americans will be telling us where there’s waste, they'll be reporting it themselves.”
So far, it hasn’t been made clear where the remaining 60% of savings will go.
Most of the federal spendings reductions made by DOGE have come from canceling contracts and making mass layoffs of government staff.
The organization, which is not technically a government department and is instead an outside advisor, is facing a slew of lawsuits.
Jessica Riedl, who is a senior fellow at right-leaning think tank Manhattan Institute, spoke to The Washington Post where she said: “Given the very small share of federal spending that has been reduced, the American people could possibly take their dividend to Starbucks for half off of one coffee.
“When the budget deficit is $2 trillion and Congress is going to add hundreds of billions of dollars more, any savings should go to deficit reduction, rather than another tax rebate.”
James Fishback, who is the CEO of investment firm Azoria, has claimed that 78 million households that pay federal income taxes would each receive $5,000 under the plan, which would involve Musk chopping down federal spending by a whopping $2 trillion.
Fears have grown over where those cuts would be made in order to achieve this new budget, with many people worrying that this could impact vital things like Medicare benefits payments.
On X, formerly Twitter, Fishback wrote: “Our proposal for the president is simple: Taxpaying households should receive $1 for every $5 of total savings that DOGE delivers.”
In response, Musk said: “Will check with the president.”
And the very next day, Trump spoke about the idea in Miami.