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Investing.com-- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested the possibility of returning some government money saved by his Department of Government Efficiency back to American taxpayers.
Speaking at a Saudi-backed investment event in Miami, Trump said he was exploring a concept where 20% of DOGE savings could be returned to citizens, while another 20% would be deployed towards repaying debt. The President did not specify just how this would work.
Still, Trump lauded billionaire Elon Musk’s leadership of DOGE, stating that he was doing a “great job.”
“(DOGE) is now waging war on government waste, fraud, and abuse… they’re curbing inflation and saving taxpayers billions and billions of dollars every single day,” Trump said.
DOGE was formed by Trump, with Musk at the helm, to explore streamlining the government and slash fiscal spending. The department’s website claims that the agency has saved about $55 billion so far in its first month of operations- a fraction of the $1 trillion to $2 trillion target set by Musk for 2026.
Spending cuts under DOGE have been aimed largely at USAID and the Department of Education.
Trump repeatedly brought up allegations of wasteful government spending during his address.
The U.S. President also said that income from his recently imposed tariffs had “already turned out to be amazing.” He repeated his plans to impose 25% tariffs on automobile, pharmaceutical and semiconductor imports, stating that some of the duties will be imposed within the coming month.
In his first month in office, Trump imposed 10% tariffs against China and 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. He also flagged the potential for steeper trade duties against major U.S. trading partners.