On Wednesday, February 19, 2025, President Donald Trump unveiled a proposal to return a portion of government efficiency savings to American taxpayers. The proposal indicates that 20% of the cost reductions identified by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may be given back to the public in the form of dividends.
While speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) PRIORITY Summit in Miami Beach, Florida, Trump introduced the idea of dividing the savings achieved by DOGE. “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,” Trump stated. “The numbers are incredible, Elon—so many millions, billions, hundreds of billions.”
The idea was originally proposed by James Fishback, Azoria’s CEO, who shared a comprehensive proposal on social media platform X. Fishback’s proposal involved a distribution of roughly $5,000 per household to approximately 79 million households currently paying federal income tax. This was based on Musk’s initial assertion that DOGE could realize $2 trillion in federal budget cuts, with $400 billion (20%) possibly being distributed to taxpayers beginning July 2026.
However, Musk has since dismissed the $2 trillion estimate. In an interview with a political strategist in January, Musk acknowledged that the number represented an “optimal outcome,” indicating that he believes he has a “good shot” at reducing it by only half.
DOGE’s savings claims have been significantly questioned. Despite the agency’s “wall of receipts” claiming $55 billion in savings, a detailed evaluation uncovered major discrepancies. In one glaring mistake, DOGE reported an $8 billion saving by canceling a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contract that was only worth $8 million.
CBS News conducted further analysis and found more accounting errors, including misunderstandings of government contracting processes that resulted in exaggerated savings estimates. DOGE incorrectly calculated “indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity” contracts, claiming $654 million in savings when actual spending was approximately $400 million.
DOGE’s contract cancellations have had tangible impacts. Many of the canceled contracts were related to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, such as a Department of Education project assisting over 1,070 youth with disabilities and HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in Africa.
Economists have voiced concerns about the potential economic repercussions of such dividend payments. Research suggests that previous direct payments to Americans during the pandemic may have contributed to inflation, with government stimulus estimated to have added 2.6 percentage points to the 7.9% annual inflation rate recorded in February 2022.
DOGE’s methods of federal spending reduction have been met with criticism from contracting experts. A former federal contracting official described DOGE’s savings claims as “completely disingenuous.” The program has also ended contracts with several media outlets, including Politico, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, claiming approximately $11 million in savings.
Despite doubts surrounding the accuracy of DOGE’s reported savings, Trump continues to assert that the potential for dividend payments would incentivize citizens to report wasteful government spending, as it would directly benefit them. The administration has yet to provide specific details about how the remaining 60% of claimed DOGE savings would be used.