Mike Johnson shies away from ‘DOGE dividends’ – Washington Examiner
At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) distanced himself from a proposed “DOGE dividend” that would return a portion of government savings to taxpayers. The plan aimed to distribute up to $5,000 to taxpayers if the department of Government Efficiency met a $2 trillion budget cut goal. Although Johnson acknowledged the political appeal of the plan for Republicans,he emphasized the importance of fiscal responsibility amidst the U.S.’s $36 trillion federal debt. The proposal gained traction after comments from Elon Musk and received backing from former president Donald Trump, who expressed interest in using savings from the initiative for taxpayer refunds and debt reduction.simultaneously occurring, White House officials argued that such refunds would not escalate inflation, as they could encourage savings rather than spending.
Mike Johnson tamps down ‘DOGE dividend’ talk at CPAC
NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) backed away from supporting a proposal to send 20% of any funding cuts the Department of Government Efficiency makes back to taxpayers.
Johnson demurred on the proposal, which would send up to $5,000 to taxpayers if DOGE reaches its goal of cutting $2 trillion in federal spending, while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, even while conceding the plan would be great for Republicans “politically.”
“Fiscal responsibility is what we do as conservatives, that’s our brand,” Johnson said. “And we have a $36 trillion federal debt. We have a giant deficit that we’re contending with. I think we need to pay down the credit card, right?”
TRUMP BACKS ‘DOGE DIVIDEND,’ FLOATS DEBT PAYDOWN USING MUSK SAVINGS
The proposal first gained traction after DOGE leader Elon Musk said he would “check with the president” in response to Azoria Partners CEO James Fishback, who outlined the plan in a four-page letter that was posted online.
“President Trump and Elon Musk should announce a ‘DOGE Dividend’—a tax refund check sent to every taxpayer, funded exclusively with a portion of the total savings delivered by DOGE,” Fishback wrote in a post to X on Feb. 18.
The proposal received the backing of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, who said the plan was “under consideration.”
“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, because the numbers are incredible,” Trump said Wednesday at a Miami conference backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. “So many billions of dollars [are being saved]. Billions. Hundreds of billions.”
But Trump also expanded on the idea during his comments, saying that another 20% of the money saved would go to paying the national debt. Meanwhile, White House policy adviser Stephen Miller stated that the remaining 60% could be passed on to the following year’s budget.
WHAT IS DOGE? WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY
The White House denied that the stimulus-style checks would worsen inflation during a press briefing on Thursday, with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett opining that they would instead reduce it.
“If we don’t spend government money and we give it back to people, then if they spend it all, you’re even,” Hassett said during the afternoon press briefing. “But they’re probably going to save a lot of it, in which case you’re reducing inflation.”
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