WASHINGTON — Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, claims American taxpayers may obtain a $5,000 refund from the federal authorities — regardless of no obvious assist in Congress, which controls the nation’s purse strings.
Quickly after Musk started floating the thought, President Donald Trump instructed buyers at a convention in Miami on Feb. 19: “There’s even into consideration a brand new idea the place we give 20% of the DOGE financial savings to Americans and 20% goes to paying down debt, as a result of the numbers are unimaginable, Elon.”
Musk and Trump’s statements excited Trump supporters on social media. “That might be an important START,” one X person underneath the moniker “MAGAmom” wrote.
Others on-line dismissed the declare as a “unhealthy thought” and a “steaming pile of horses–t.”
Proper-wing media outlet Newsmax wrote that the proposal is “meant to incentivize the general public to report authorities waste.”
The U.S. DOGE Service Non permanent Group, established by Trump by way of govt order, was born out of Trump and Musk’s marketing campaign promise to ascertain a Division of Authorities Effectivity with the objective of slashing as much as $2 trillion in federal spending — an virtually definitely unattainable determine that Musk has since walked again.
Who first talked about DOGE refund checks?
Musk, a senior White Home adviser and Trump’s prime reelection marketing campaign donor, posted on Feb. 18 to his social media platform X that he would “verify with the president” about returning authorities financial savings on to taxpayers.
The proposal for a “DOGE Dividend” was steered on X by an funding agency CEO who reportedly has suggested Musk’s authorities financial savings challenge.
James Fishback, of the agency Azoria, shared a four-page plan, calculating that Musk and Trump may divide up 20% of $2 trillion in authorities financial savings for the roughly 79 million U.S. taxpaying households, in the end sending about $5,000 to every one. The proposal solely contains “web payers of federal earnings tax” in 2025, that means that lower-income Individuals wouldn’t see a refund.
Can Musk and Trump even discover $2 trillion in financial savings?
“Not even shut,” Matt Dallek, presidential and political historian at George Washington College, instructed States Newsroom throughout an interview Tuesday.
“It can save you some cash, however relative to the general federal finances, you’re speaking a few relative pittance,” Dallek stated.
The Trump administration has to date fired hundreds of federal employees, most probationary workers, although the precise determine is unclear. The White Home, underneath Musk’s steerage, slashed any positions and contracts associated to variety initiatives, largely dismantled the U.S. Company for Worldwide Improvement and all however shut down the Client Safety Monetary Bureau.
DOGE and the Trump administration have been met with protests and lawsuits for the short-term group’s entry to delicate knowledge and employment data that in the end led to the firing of hundreds of federal workers.
“These are type of ideological targets that aren’t actually designed to realize actual price financial savings,” Dallek stated.
Nearly all of federal spending goes to Social Safety, Medicare and protection, areas that Trump and lawmakers are reluctant to the touch.
Democrats contend Home Republicans’ newest finances proposal additionally targets Medicaid, a federal-state program that gives well being look after low-income Individuals. Trump has stated he doesn’t wish to contact Medicaid advantages.
DOGE touts questionable financial savings
DOGE, which isn’t a federal division however relatively an 18-month govt workplace challenge, claims on its web site to have saved the federal government an estimated $65 billion by means of “fraud detection/deletion, contract/lease cancellations, contract/lease renegotiations, asset gross sales, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, programmatic modifications, and regulatory financial savings.”
The New York Occasions reported Tuesday that DOGE deleted 5 of the largest “financial savings” on the unique listing even because the sum climbed to $65 billion.
DOGE.gov encompasses a “wall of receipts,” or entries that have to be individually considered to disclose claims, and typically screenshots, of what the short-term service group claims to have slashed.
Entries purport DOGE cancelled entry to information subscriptions and different assets for federal workers, nixed quite a few contracts, and terminated leases for federal workplace areas across the nation.
“Quite a lot of it’s smoke and mirrors,” Dallek stated.
“When you’re actually making an attempt to avoid wasting the federal government cash, why would you hearth 7,000 IRS workers as tax season is approaching, which, you understand, goes to hinder the power of the IRS to gather the taxes that yearly go unpaid?” he added.
An NPR evaluation of greater than 1,100 entries on the DOGE web site discovered that the short-term group fell approach wanting its financial savings claims. The evaluation, printed Feb. 19, calculated solely $2 billion in precise financial savings.
Twenty-one workers resigned in protest from the U.S. DOGE Service Tuesday, in response to The Related Press. The division was beforehand the U.S. Digital Service, which handles authorities know-how, earlier than Trump renamed the company.
Can Trump reduce checks with out Congress?
Individuals have obtained refund or stimulus checks in current historical past.
Each the primary Trump administration and former President Joe Biden signed legal guidelines that included direct funds to households as a part of the COVID-19 pandemic reduction efforts.
Former President George W. Bush despatched rebate checks to taxpayers as a part of his tax plan, handed by Congress in 2001. And, as a part of laws to deal with the financial slowdown in 2008, Bush despatched a spherical of stimulus checks.
Whereas specialists argue concerning the nuances of whether or not presidents can unilaterally direct spending by way of govt order, the Oval Workplace almost definitely can’t ship direct funds to Individuals with out Congress appropriating the cash, because it did in these earlier instances.
“Trump and Musk are doing loads of issues which are doubtless unlawful and or unconstitutional, they usually’re nonetheless doing them. But when we dwell within the constitutional realities of what the Structure says and what Congress’ energy is, sending checks to folks just isn’t one thing (the administration) can do by fiat,” Dallek stated.
The White Home didn’t reply to a request for additional particulars about sending direct funds to taxpayers.
Final up to date 7:32 p.m., Feb. 26, 2025
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