White House outlines where DOGE savings could go after Trump floats returning 20% to Americans

Congress will need to work through the reconciliation process before American taxpayers will see Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dividend checks, Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, said Wednesday. 

Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump floated the idea of delivering the savings to taxpayers directly. Trump said 20% savings could be delivered to U.S. citizens in personal checks to taxpaying households, while another 20% would be used to pay down the national debt. 

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DOGE so far claims to have saved some $55 billion via cuts to USAID, the Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Some of DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts are under legal challenge, however.

During Wednesday’s White House news briefing, Miller broke down how the money could be used. 

“We’re hearing about these DOGE dividend checks,” Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked. “That would be 20% back to taxpayers, 20% to pay down the debt, 60% is left. Who gets that?”

“Well, the way that it works is when you achieve savings, you can either return it to the taxpayers, you can return it to our debtors, or it can be cycled into next year’s budget,” Miller replied.

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“So in other words, you can just transfer it into the next fiscal window and then lower the overall spending level,” he added. 

Earlier this week, users on X pitched the idea of a “DOGE dividend” to Elon Musk, who leads DOGE, suggesting payouts of $5,000. The billionaire Tesla owner said he would “check with the president” about the plan.

When asked when taxpayers could see the money, Miller said, “This is all going to be worked on through the reconciliation process with Congress that’s going under way right now.”

“As you’ve seen, the Senate is moving a bill,” he added. “The House is moving a bill. The president has great confidence in both chambers to deliver on his priorities.”

Trump has made a major commitment to the working class to fight for major tax relief, price relief and to cut spending, Miller said.