Speaking Wednesday (Feb. 19) in Miami, the president said his administration was considering returning money saved through his Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) cost-cutting measures to U.S. households.
“The numbers are incredible, Elon. So many millions, billions — hundreds of billions”” said Trump, per multiple published reports. “And we’re thinking about giving 20% back to the American citizens, and 20% down to pay back our debt.”
“Elon” is of course, Elon Musk, the billionaire-turned-White-House advisor who is closely tied to DOGE’s efforts.
The notion of the “DOGE Dividend” followed a social media conversation between Musk and James Fishback, CEO of the investment firm Azoria.
The proposal assumes that DOGE hits its goal of cutting $2 trillion in spending. If that goal was met, the plan would take 20% of that figure — $400 billion — and return it to 79 million American households that pay income taxes in the form of $5,000 checks.
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However, DOGE is a long way from getting to $2 trillion. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the group has so far saved $50 billion, while DOGE has said the number is $55 billion. However, the group’s website on Wednesday had accounted for just $16.6 billion, and nearly half of that figure came from mislabeling an $8 million contract as $8 billion.
Josh Sewell, director of research and policy at Taxpayers for Common Sense, told NBC News Wednesday that it was “mathematically impossible” for DOGE to reach the kind of trillion-dollar savings Musk has pledged without targeting defense spending and entitlements.
“The gravity of our debt, which is $32 pushing $33 trillion in our annual spending, which is around $6 trillion, is so big and so hard to comprehend that you have to have all hands on deck. You have to look everywhere,” Sewell added. “If a political actor only finds savings in their opponent’s backyard, that’s not a recipe for success.”
Meanwhile, DOGE’s efforts continue to draw criticism from a number of circles. On Wednesday, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) said the group’s efforts to make cuts in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) presented an ethical conflict.
The reason: the CFPB would be the agency in charge of regulating the planned payments arm of Musk’s X social media platform.
