doge savings

Trump says he’s weighing giving 20% of DOGE savings to Americans

U.S. President Donald Trump revealed on Wednesday that he’s considering sending 20% of the money saved by the Department of Government Efficiency advisory group to Americans.

“There’s even under consideration a new concept where we give 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens and 20% goes to paying down debt,” Trump said during his remarks at the FII Priority Summit in Miami Beach, Fla.

His remarks came after Elon Musk said in a post on X Tuesday that he “Will check with the President” on a proposal to send U.S. households tax refund checks funded by savings created by DOGE’s cost-cutting campaign.

That was in response to a separate post from James Fishback, CEO of the Azoria investment firm, suggesting that Trump has the opportunity to issue a so-called DOGE Dividend.

Musk has said that his goal is to cut federal spending by $2 trillion, out of a $6.75 trillion annual budget in the latest fiscal year ended last Sept. 30. If that were met, Fishback suggests taking 20% of that, or $400 billion, and distributing it to taxpayers. That would amount to approximately $5,000 per household, he said.

“When a breach of this magnitude happens in the private sector, the counterparty, at minimum, refunds the customer since they failed to deliver what was promised,” Fishback wrote in his proposal. “It’s high time for the federal government to do the same, and refund money back to taxpayers given what DOGE has uncovered.”

Government stimulus checks mailed to millions of taxpayers in 2020 during the Covid pandemic bore Trump’s signature, the first time a president’s name appeared on any IRS payments, The Associated Press reported at the time.

According to DOGE, it has saved an estimated $55 billion through its efforts. However, recent reports suggest that the actual figure is likely far below that.

Earlier Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that the DOGE website only accounts for $16.6 billion of the $55 billion it claims to have saved. Additionally, The New York Times said on Tuesday that DOGE mistakenly cited an $8 billion saving on a federal contract that was actually for $8 million instead.

Meanwhile, many of DOGE’s efforts have been met with court challenges. But a federal judge on Tuesday denied a request to stop DOGE from accessing federal agencies’ computer systems or directing government worker firings while litigation is ongoing.

Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.

Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.

Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Data also provided by

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO

News Tips

CNBC Newsletters

Advertise With Us

Trump Suggests Savings From Spending Cuts Could Be Returned to Taxpayers

Musk’s Influence

We encourage you to review our updated Terms of Sale, Terms of Service, and Privacy Policy. By continuing, you agree to the updated Terms listed here.

Musk weighs a ‘DOGE dividend’ to send Americans checks using saved funds

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk join ‘Hannity’ to discuss criticism of DOGE and whether the country is facing a ‘constitutional crisis.’

Elon Musk expressed interest in a proposal to use savings from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to give taxpayers a “DOGE dividend” payment.

X user James Fishback wrote a post that tagged Musk and outlined his plan to take 20% of the savings found by DOGE to send it back “to hard-working Americans as a tax refund check. It was their money in the first place!”

Fishback noted that if DOGE achieves its goal of cutting $2 trillion in federal spending, that would provide the 78 million taxpaying households in the U.S. with about a $5,000 refund or “DOGE dividend” per household, with the remainder used to pay down the national debt.

“Will check with the President,” Musk replied in response to Fishback’s post.

SAVING US TAXPAYER MONEY COMES DOWN TO TWO KEY THINGS, ELON MUSK TELLS HANNITY

Elon Musk took note of a proposal to create a “DOGE dividend” using saved funds. (Marc Piasecki/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Although DOGE has set a high-end goal of $2 trillion in savings, Musk has suggested that $1 trillion in savings would be a success and explained that goal in an appearance with President Donald Trump on Fox News’ “Hannity” on Tuesday night.

“The overall goal is to try to get a trillion dollars out of the deficit,” Musk said. “If the deficit is not brought under control, America will go bankrupt.”

“This is a very important thing for people to understand. A country is no different from an individual, in that if an individual overspends, an individual can go bankrupt. And so can a country,” he said. “And the massive waste, fraud and abuse that has been going on, which is leading to a $2 trillion a year deficit.”

MUSK’S DOGE LAUNCHES AGENCY ACCOUNTS TO SOLICIT COST SAVINGS TIPS FROM THE PUBLIC

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk discuss taxes and federal spending during their joint “Hannity” interview. (Fox News Channel / Fox News)

DOGE claims an estimated $55 billion in savings achieved to date from canceling certain federal leases and contracts, asset sales, fraud deletion, regulatory savings and workforce reductions.

While Musk appeared open to the idea of a DOGE dividend on Tuesday night, he said on Wednesday morning that balancing the budget should be the focus given DOGE’s efforts.

Musk wrote in a post on Wednesday, “We need to balance the budget as first priority,” in a response to a post by Scott Adams that raised concerns the DOGE dividend could result in the government using the DOGE savings as a “piggy bank.”

DOGE is looking to cut waste, fraud and abuse from the federal government. (Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The federal government ran a more than $1.8 trillion budget deficit in fiscal year 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

It’s expected to grow above $2 trillion annually in the years ahead according to the CBO’s projections, leaving DOGE and the Trump administration with a significant gap to close if they intend to balance the budget.

Get a brief on the top business stories of the week, plus CEO interviews, market updates, tech and money news that matters to you.

By clicking subscribe, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.

Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement.