The silent partner in the Department of Government Efficiency is lifting his voice in support of a “DOGE Dividend” to be delivered to American taxpayers in 2026.

Azoria Investment Firm CEO James Fishback, who succeeded Vivek Ramaswamy to be an outside advisor for DOGE, pitched a plan Tuesday to return $400 billion of DOGE savings.

The four-page summary, which he released on X, says $1 billion in savings is discovered daily, and DOGE estimates it will be able to recover $2 trillion when all is said and done. At that point, the Treasury can afford to give $5,000 to the 79 million households that pay taxes in 2025. 

The checks would be used to compensate “American taxpayers for the egregious misuse and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars that DOGE has uncovered,” according to Mr. Fishback’s plan, which instantly raised comparisons to the three rounds of stimulus checks distributed during the Covid pandemic.

Mr. Fishback argued that the refund would incentivize Americans to report waste, fraud, and abuse, thereby increasing total savings and “restore public trust between taxpayers and their government,” making good on President Trump’s “social contract and increasing tax morale.”

As the annual deficit spirals to $1.8 trillion — the equivalent of the entire American national debt in 1985 — the proposal drew swift and vivid reactions. Some X users called it a windfall to the average taxpayer. Others criticized it as a vote-buying scheme. Yet another user said it should only go to taxpayers who support the project.

Vice President of Federal Policy at the Tax Foundation, Erica York, tweeted that a refund in time of a deficit is the equivalent of more spending. 

“A DOGE dividend undermines the entire purpose of finding savings in the federal budget,” she tweeted.

In the proposal, Mr. Fishback addressed that expected complaint, saying it would only be implemented if it is financed by spending cuts. 

“Since Azoria’s plan calls for paying out 20 percent of the savings DOGE identifies, with the rest used  to pay down the national debt, the value of spending cuts must exceed the value of  President Trump’s DOGE Dividend payouts by a factor of 5.”

Elon Musk, whom Mr. Fishback tagged to see the proposal, said he would present it to the president. He later responded to another text, “Obviously, the president is the commander-in-chef. It’s entirely up to him.”

So far, DOGE has uncovered $55 billion in savings, the DOGE website reported Monday.