Although President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have been suggesting for months the idea of turning the Department of Government Efficiency's reported savings into $5,000 stimulus checks for Americans, Musk appears to have backtracked on the idea, The Hill reported.
When asked whether he had any update on DOGE checks being sent out to Americans, Musk noted that though it is "somewhat up to the Congress and maybe the president as to whether specific checks are cut," reducing "wasteful spending" will leave the economy "better off."
He emphasized that this would be the case "whether a check is cut or not."
In a video shared by USA Today, Musk told a crowd in Green Bay that "as government spending is made more efficient and spending is reduced, the tax by inflation is reduced. So one way or another, you will effectively be better off if resources in the United States are not wasted."
In any case, even by the proposals touting a $5,000 check, receiving one would depend on DOGE slashing enough costs to reach its $2 trillion goal. As of Tuesday, DOGE claims it has saved $140 billion (although critics have questioned some of its reported cuts), a figure which is equal to less than $870 per taxpayer, according to The Hill.