Backed by Trump-Musk, $5,000 'DOGE dividend' plan could become law soon? What you need to know

As the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) looks to cut federal spending, Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump have floated the idea that some of any savings could come back to Americans in the form of $5,000 dividend checks. The proposal for a "DOGE dividend" could potentially become a law, according to The New York Post.

James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria, met the Tesla CEO last week and began meeting with lawmakers about this idea earlier this week, the report said.

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DOGE Dividend could become law?

“The president supports this and Elon likes the idea of incentivizing people to report waste, fraud, and abuse,” Fishback was quoted as saying by the Post. “The proposed bill will be coming in the next few days.” He added, “This approach will save taxpayers even more money — it would compound the returns that doge is finding.”

Under Fishback’s proposal, households that are net taxpayers — those who pay into the government more than they receive in benefits — would receive 20% of all DOGE’s saving. Another 20% will go to paying down the national debt and the other 60% would likely be allocated to the budget each year (Fishback doesn’t explicitly state that).

According to his math that would mean roughly 79 million households would get a $5,000 check each if Musk is able to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget he’s estimated he can trim. Fishback has previously suggested the first check would come when DOGE terminates in July 2026, but if it become law before then, he said, Americans could get a check even sooner.

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Musk, Trump endorse DOGE Dividend

The idea of DOGE Dividend sparked a buzz on internet after Fishback posted about it on X, formerly known as Twitter. Musk then "quote tweeted" the idea and shared his support for the idea on X while Trump praised the idea in a speech last week.

While some economists have suggested a possible dividend could push inflation higher, like stimulus checks did during the pandemic, Fishback believes his targeted approach disbursing checks will eliminate that issue.

Both Elon Musk and Donald Trump have endorsed a proposal by James Fishback, suggesting that millions of American households receive checks. Fishback shared the idea on social media platform X on February 18.

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“Americans sent their hard-earned tax dollars to Washington, D.C.,” Fishback told CNBC, adding that he believes some of those funds were "wasted." He argued that “restitution” is necessary to address the misuse of taxpayer money.

Earlier in February, the White House highlighted what it described as “waste and abuse” in U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) spending, including $1.5 million for workplace diversity initiatives in Serbia and $70,000 for a DEI-themed musical in Ireland.

During Trump’s presidency, the Deficit Oversight and Government Efficiency (DOGE) group aimed to cut $2 trillion in federal spending. Musk recently suggested that while achieving the full $2 trillion might be ideal, cutting even half that amount is a “good shot.”

Fishback’s proposal assumes DOGE will reach the $2 trillion target. He suggests using 20% of the savings—approximately $400 billion—to issue $5,000 tax refunds to about 79 million tax-paying households.