Over the past two months, Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has cut $55 billion in unnecessary government spending.

That led President Donald Trump to recently suggest that some of the staggering savings should be returned to taxpayers. 

Trump says as much as 20% of savings could be returned to taxpayers

According to the New York Post, Trump's remarks came as he spoke on Wednesday in Miami Beach to a nonprofit backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

"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," the president was quoted as saying.

"The numbers are incredible, Elon, so many billions — hundreds of billions — and we’re thinking about giving 20% back to the American citizens," Trump added.

The Post noted how DOGE announced at the end of last week that it found $1.9 billion which had been misplaced by Department of Housing and Urban Development.

What's more, DOGE also canceled $373 million worth of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training grants at the Department of Education.

Investment firm CEO called for a "DOGE Dividend" check to Americans

Trump's remarks came days after Musk told Azoria CEO James Fishback that he would speak with Trump about the possibility of returning DOGE savings to taxpayers.

President Trump and @ElonMusk 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. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/p5AZZj3Ttc

— James Fishback (@j_fishback) February 18, 2025

"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.

However, Musk put up another social media post on Wednesday in which he pushed back on suggestions that every taxpayer would receive a $5,000 check, stating, "I never mentioned a specific dollar figure."

Musk says DOGE's main priority is to reduce the deficit

"Just said that I would see if the President wanted to consider a tax reduction linked to DOGE savings. He may or he may not," Musk clarified.

"The amount would therefore obviously be proportionate to how much savings DOGE actually achieves," the DOGE head pointed out.

"More savings would mean a bigger tax reduction! The top DOGE priority remains however reducing the deficit to stop inflation and lower people’s interest rates," Musk went on to stress.