Senators' Take on a Potential DOGE Dividend
Senators' reactions are mixed as President Donald Trump considers issuing new stimulus checks to Americans from money saved through government cuts. The proposal has drawn criticism from Democrats, who see it as a distraction from other activities of the Trump administration.
Some Republicans are also concerned about the effect a dividend payment could have on government spending.
"I'm very interested in eliminating the debt and the deficit," said Wyoming's Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis. "As well as getting inflation under control. So those would be my top priorities for the savings associated with DOGE."
Sen. Lummis added, "If there's money left after we address inflation, and the debt, and the deficit, it's always a good idea to send taxpayers their money back. But when we're $36 trillion in debt, we've dug ourselves a pretty big hole."
"I like the idea of returning money to the American taxpayer," said Missouri's Republican Sen. Josh Hawley. "Whether you do that direct to every person or whether you use it to fund, for instance, a child tax credit, which would be direct relief to every working family, if they work and pay payroll taxes, that would be great."