$5,000 DOGE payments: Trump and Musk’s new stimulus checks and when they could arrive

In recent weeks, speculation has been swirling that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will distribute $5,000 checks, similar to stimulus checks sent during the pandemic, to taxpayers.

With a lot of money on the line. Let’s break down how true this claim is.

James Fishback, a 30-year-old investor, proposed that twenty percent of the savings found by Musk’s department, be redistributed back to the taxpayers; dubbing the initiative the “DOGE Dividend.'

DOGE plans to save over $2 trillion to cut the US deficit, and both Musk and President Donald Trump have weighed in on the idea of returning a chunk of whatever total is determined. Upon reading Fishback’s post, Musk replied that he would “check with the president,” about the proposal.

A few days later President Trump spoke about the proposal favorably at the Future Investment Initiative Institute Priority Summit, justifying the checks based on DOGE’s “incredible” findings on areas where the federal government could save.

During his speech, Trump added that his administration was "thinking about giving 20% back to the American people and using another 20% to pay off debt."

You might be interested in: Elon Musk’s DOGE plans to shutter 50 Social Security Administration field offices: Here’s the full list

Reality check on the DOGE Dividend

According to Fishback, DOGE is aiming to save around $2 trillion, meaning 20% of that would amount to $400 billion. If divided among 79 million eligible taxpayers, each check could be as much as $5,000. Earlier today, Fishback posted about his idea on X, a move to raise the profile of the proposal again, after failing to be pushed forward by the White House.

However, significant economic and legislative hurdles stand in the way of such a proposal. First, it would need Congressional approval, and lawmakers may have different priorities for how to allocate any potential savings from DOGE. Republicans blame stimulus checks and high levels of government spending as inflationary, which may make some within the caucus unwilling to send another round of direct payments to the American people.

Furthermore, we are still far off from being able to evaluate DOGE’s true savings for the federal government. Though layoffs have been taking place at numerous departments and agencies, many workers are being asked back, and many of DOGE’s cost savings measures could be challenged, and subsequently blocked, by the courts.

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This article was written by Corina Gonzáles in Spanish, translated with the help of AI, and edited by Maite Knorr-Evans.