If you got to this article by searching for “DOGE check,” “DOGE dividend check” or “DOGE stimulus check,” I have some bad news: Your check is not in the mail.
Each week, Americans take to the internet to search some variation of the words DOGE, stimulus, dividend, refund and payment to learn when they might get their share of the money supposedly saved by the Department of Government Efficiency as it has slashed and burned through Washington.
For several weeks, more people searched for “DOGE checks” than “tax refunds,” which is a huge search term every year. (It’s also led to a flood of news stories from outlets that write about trending topics, which only raises awareness and leads to even more internet searches.)
DOGE checks are not going to happen.
So let me be clear: as things look now in Washington, DOGE checks are not going to happen.
Instead, the DOGE checks are set to turn out the same way as Trump’s failed promises to build a massive border wall with Mexico, repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and end the Russia-Ukraine war on the first day of his second term. But as the online searches indicate, this failure will likely haunt Trump more intensely because the disappointment will be more personal.
The idea began, appropriately enough, on the internet. James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria, said he had a dream about sending Americans checks for their share of the money saved by DOGE spending cuts. After some quick back-of-the-envelope math, he posted on X in mid-February that Trump should send each American household a “DOGE Dividend” check worth 20% of the savings, or what he estimated would be $5,000 apiece.
Billionaire federal contractor Elon Musk replied “will check with the president,” and Trump called it a “great idea” the following day in impromptu remarks on Air Force One.
“I love it,” Trump said. “A 20% dividend, so to speak, for the money that we’re saving by going after the waste and fraud and abuse and all of the other things that are happening.”
The president recognizes a clever idea when he hears it. If he actually sent voters a sizable check, it would likely boost him in the polls.
Also recognizing the idea’s potential are campaign marketers and other spammers. In the last week alone, I have received 14 emails from different Republican campaigns, with subject lines such as “DOGE CHECK: PENDING!!” and “5K Check for you???” and “YOU SAID NO TO DOGE CHECK!” There’s also a phishing email circulating that touts “DOGE compensation to fraud victims.” (You have to marvel at the diabolical ingenuity of that one.)








