Trump DOGE Dividend Checks: Status and who could qualify for payment if it happens

What they're saying:

WASHINGTON - James Fishback, founder of investment firm Azoria Partners, spoke with FOX News’ Dana Perino about the status of DOGE Dividend Checks, how they could work, and who could qualify. Here’s a portion of that interview:

Where are the savings that have been found by DOGE? [Paraphrased]

JAMES FISHBACK (JF): "Well, it’s somewhere in the ether Dana, but I think the more important question is that where is this money going to go when we end up saving it when DOGE is all said and done.

President Trump is off to a smashing start. What an incredible first month. Now it's time to look at the DOGE savings as our proposal calls out and send 20% of that right back to the hardworking Americans who sent it to D.C. in the first place, Dana.

They didn't send it to Washington DC for it to be spent on Iraqi Sesame Street, or in a transgender Opera in Colombia. They sent it for our roads, our bridges, our Healthcare, on our education.

That clearly has been lacking, so guess what? Taxpayers are overdue for restitution, they need a refund, and I'm proud that President Trump supports our proposal."

READ MORE: $5,000 DOGE check? Trump backs idea to send some savings to Americans

Who would the DOGE dividend checks go to? [Paraphrased]

JF: "The plan is very simple, Dana. We think DOGE will save $2 trillion in total. You take 20% of that-that's $400 billion. You divide that by the number of American households that will pay federal income tax this year. That's $79 million. 

That gets you $5,000 to every American taxpaying household next summer. It'll have President Trump's signature on it, because without him without his leadership this would not be possible."

Could DOGE dividend checks lead to more inflation? [Paraphrased]

JF: "I say no, and here's why Dana. The first reason is that our economy is in much better shape the last time stimulus checks were indiscriminately sent out by President Biden. We had a massive labor shortage, supply chain dislocations, and they were sent out to everybody, not just taxpayers. 

The second reason is that this money is coming from direct savings, so remember, for every $5 that DOGE saves, $1 goes back to hardworking taxpayers. And a poll from 2019 CNBC found that 70% of Americans would use this type of check to pay down debt, which is the opposite of inflationary, it's deflationary, so this is a good policy it's good economics."

Should people use DOGE dividend checks to pay down their own debt? [Paraphrased]

JF: "Absolutely, just like D.C. should get its house in order. The government should do the same, which is why this proposal calls for the rest of the money, the other 80%, to narrow the deficit, Dana, and to pay down our national debt. But American taxpayers who have worked hard, they need a break, they need restitution. 

The biggest part, Dana, though is we incentivize them to report waste fraud and abuse, as President Trump said on Air Force One, report waste, fraud, and abuse, Dana – because guess what? The more DOGE saves, the bigger their DOGE dividend check is."

Listen to the full interview online.