House Speaker Johnson Responds to the Idea of ‘DOGE Dividend’ Checks

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 5, 2025. Win McNamee/Getty Images

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday appeared cool to the idea that the Trump administration could send checks to Americans based on savings related to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

When discussing the prospect on Thursday, Johnson downplayed the idea in light of the budget deficit, while allowing that it would be politically beneficial to the Republican Party.

“Everybody loves a check, but ... we have a giant deficit. I think we need to pay down the credit card,” he told a crowd at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) event held in Washington on Thursday. “Fiscal responsibility is what we do,” he added, according to live streaming video of the event.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, a Trump adviser who championed the work of DOGE, said that checks might be distributed to Americans.

A day earlier, Trump said at the FII Priority summit, an investment conference in Miami, that his administration is “thinking about giving 20 percent back to the American citizens and 20 percent back to pay down debt.”

Trump also said the potential for dividend payments would incentivize people to report wasteful spending. “They’ll be reporting it themselves,” Trump said. “They participate in the process of saving us money.”

Later, as the president flew back to Washington aboard Air Force One, a reporter asked him about the plan floated by Musk.

“I love it,” Trump said.

Earlier this week, Musk wrote on his social media platform X that he “will check with the president” in response to a suggestion that Trump and Musk should announce a “DOGE Dividend” that would send a refund to taxpayers from part of the savings resulting from DOGE’s audits of federal agencies and programs. Its efforts to downsize the government have also led to thousands of federal government employees being fired or laid off.

In a press briefing on Thursday, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, said the checks would be worked on in the budget reconciliation process in Congress. He said Congress needs to pass a measure in order to send those checks.

“This is all going to be worked on in the reconciliation process that is going on right now,” Miller said.

Miller, Trump, and Musk have not provided further details about the refund proposal. The Epoch Times contacted the White House press office for comment.

In terms of cost-cutting, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Fox News interview that about $50 billion in spending has been slashed due to DOGE’s findings since it started.

“So that’s a very good start,” Bessent said, adding that DOGE’s efforts could ultimately lead to “several percent” of the U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP, in savings.

Responding to criticism about the Musk-affiliated agency that was created by Trump in an executive order last month, Bessent said that Americans “don’t have to be concerned” about DOGE’s activity in the IRS.

DOGE and Musk have recently faced multiple lawsuits, including one filed by tax groups earlier this week that accused the advisory body of possibly violating American taxpayers’ privacy. In a separate case, meanwhile, a federal judge in Washington declined to block Musk and DOGE from accessing data or suggesting cuts at seven federal agencies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.