United States President Donald Trump has said that his administration is considering returning 20% of the funds saved by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts to the public as rebate checks.
DOGE has made major cuts to many federal agencies, including the Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. At least 4% of all federal employees have accepted a DOGE buyout or been laid off since Trump took office last month.
“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,” said Trump at the Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit.
The rebate checks were first suggested by Azoria CEO James Fishback, who said this week on X that 20% of DOGE savings should be given to U.S. households paying federal income tax. This would represent 79 million households, according to Fishback.
Musk then replied to Fishback’s post: “Will check with the President”.
Musk has said he hopes DOGE will save up to US$2 trillion in federal spending, though he later said the organisation was expected to save just half of that figure. DOGE’s website lists around $8.6 billion in savings so far.
Around 75,000 federal workers had accepted buyouts from DOGE, as of 12 February. DOGE has ordered agencies to fire almost all of their probationary employees, of which there are approximately 200,000 across the U.S. government.
The organisation also moved to halt large numbers of foreign aid programs and federal grants, though these measures have been paused by district judges.
While Musk has helmed DOGE’s operations, the White House said in a court filing this week that he is not an official administrator or employee of the organisation.
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