Could Trump Really Return Doge Savings To Taxpayers?

An idea first proposed on social media has bubbled up to the White House and received President Donald Trump's enthusiastic endorsement: Take some of the savings from billionaire Elon Musk's drive to cut government spending and return it to taxpayers.

"I love it," Trump said late Wednesday on Air Force One, when asked about the proposal.

If Musk's target of 2 trillion in spending cuts is achieved by next year, supporters of the idea say that about one-fifth of those funds could be distributed to taxpaying households in checks of about 5,000.

But before you start planning for a windfall, budget experts say such huge savings - nearly one-third of the federal government's annual spending - are highly unlikely. And sending out a round of checks - similar to the stimulus payments distributed by Trump and then President Joe Biden during the pandemic - could fuel inflation, economists warn, though White House officials dismiss that concern.

With the annual budget deficit at 1.8 trillion last year and Trump proposing extensive tax cuts, there will also be significant pressure to use all the savings to reduce that deficit, rather than pass on part of it.