In an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Thursday, Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), revealed that President Donald Trump supports a plan to return billions of dollars in savings to American taxpayers.
Musk, who has been leading efforts to identify and eliminate government waste and fraud, criticized Democrats for their “lack of empathy” toward hardworking taxpayers.
During an interview, Musk discussed the progress of DOGE’s mission to streamline federal spending and the pushback it has faced from Democrats.
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He also highlighted a proposal by DOGE adviser James Fishback, CEO of an investment firm, to issue “DOGE dividend” checks to American households. The idea, which Musk said has Trump’s backing, would return a portion of the savings uncovered by DOGE directly to taxpayers.
“It’s money that’s taken away from things that are destructive to the country and from organizations that hate you,” Musk said. “I mean, that’s glorious. That’s like the spoils of battle, you know?” He added, “I talked to the president, and he’s supportive of that.”
Fishback’s proposal suggests allocating 20% of DOGE’s total savings—estimated at $400 billion—to refund American taxpayers. If DOGE achieves its target of $2 trillion in savings, the plan could provide approximately $5,000 per household to the roughly 79 million U.S. households that pay federal income taxes.
The remaining funds would be used to pay down the national debt.
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However, the proposal has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats, who have consistently opposed Musk’s involvement in government efficiency efforts. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) dismissed the idea during an appearance on ABC News, stating, “I don’t believe the $5,000 could help Americans,” and adding that Congress is “not in the business of giving out money.”
Musk pushed back against such criticism, emphasizing the scale of waste he has encountered since taking on his role at DOGE. “The most surprising thing is the scale of the expenditures and actually how easy it is to, just when you add caring and competence where it was absent before, you can actually save billions of dollars, sometimes in an hour,” he said. “It’s wild.”
He also accused Democrats of being out of touch with the struggles of average taxpayers.
“They really lack empathy for the average taxpayer who’s working hard, paying taxes,” Musk said. “Then they say, ‘Oh, a million dollars doesn’t matter.’ I’m like, ‘I think it matters a lot to people, you know? So what are you talking about?'”
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DOGE’s efforts have faced significant resistance from Democrats, particularly after the department identified billions of dollars in taxpayer funds being funneled into controversial programs abroad.
Reports revealed that some of these programs, funded through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), were linked to left-wing social engineering initiatives, organizations tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and even groups at risk of funneling money to the Taliban.
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