DOGE volunteer head Elon Musk floated the idea of paying the savings found by his new department, suggesting the return could be as large as $5,000. However, Crockett criticized the idea during an interview with ABC News Live.

“Listen, [Trump is] just telling a lie. He’s not the one that had anything to do with the $1,200 refunds that people had during the midst of COVID, that was done by a Democratic House and Democratic Senate,” Crockett said. “The only reason that those refunds came before was because we were living in different times. This was a time in which, hopefully, we won’t ever go through again. We had a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic . . . So, no, we are not in the business of giving out money. And honestly, I don’t know what $5,000 will do for you.”

Instead, Crockett lambasted the federal firings that have taken place and affected “scientists” and “experts” while there was a single suspected case of ebola in New York. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn’t recorded an outbreak of the virus globally since 2022, and there hasn’t been an outbreak recorded in the U.S. since 2014.

Crockett’s dismissal of the dividend sparked backlash online, as the idea was previously well-received.

“This same Rep called for reparations for Black people,” Libs of TikTok captioned the clip of Crockett on X. “Typical out-of-touch hypocritical Democrat.”

“If Jasmine Crockett’s IQ was one point lower, you would have to water her like a plant. Literally a moron,” former Trump adviser Roger Stone wrote on X.

“The poverty rate in her district is 53% HIGHER than the national average,” investment firm Azoria CEO James Fishback wrote on X. “@JasmineForUS, please ask the taxpayers in your district if they’d like a DOGE Dividend check from President Trump. We know what they’ll say. $5,000 is real money for Americans who have been abused and disrespected by wasteful spending in DC.”

HOWARD LUTNICK SAYS ELON MUSK COMMITTED TO CUT $1 TRILLION

Fishback was the first to pitch the idea to Musk, suggesting in a post on X that DOGE provides taxpayers with refund checks.

Crockett was elected to Congress after Trump left office but long criticized him while on the campaign trail. The Texas representative most recently blasted President Donald Trump for firing FBI agents involved in investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Trump’s then-acting Attorney General Emil Bove directed the FBI to dismiss eight executive-level officials.

Trump said he supports the plan for dividend checks to be distributed next summer.