Two Fox & Friends co-hosts had opposing views to a proposal being considered by Elon Musk and Donald Trump to mail out $5,000 checks to taxpayers as a windfall resulting from the massive savings his DOGE team has made from the federal budget.
Brian Kilmeade felt the Trump administration should stick to clawing back cash to pay off the nation’s deficit.
However, Lawrence Jones disagreed, feeling that taxpayers should benefit from the money being saved by slashing government spending.
‘I disagree with Brian but from a different perspective,” he said on Wednesday’s show. “I think the American people need tangible results. For the average person, it’s not our fault they mismanaged the money and the debt is out of control.
“Give us our money back that you misspent. And I think the president understands the connection with the people. When people see they are getting a check back, that’s a promise made, a promise kept.”
Jones added: “I do agree, Brian, we have do have to pay off the debt. But I think the first initial step is giving the American people some money back.”
Ainsley Earhardt was also enthusiastic about the rebate, saying: “How great would that be. We can definitely use that.”
Steve Doocy also weighed in, adding: “$5,000 would make a big difference.”
But Kilmeade was adamant. “I’m actually not for that. Either you are cutting the deficit or you’re not,” he said. “Pay the deficit down. Really similar to a family budget. If you are buried in debt and get a debt consolidation loan don’t take some of that consolidation loan and put it into miscellaneous spending.
“My goal is to spend down the debt. Right now, we have a budget of $6.7 trillion. 2.9 trillion in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. $1.15 million in veterans’ benefits. It leaves very little for any president to spend. So, we got to dive into that spending and find out where the fraud is.”
On Friday, DOGE adviser James Fishback, CEO of Azoria, an investment company, raised the idea with Musk on social media, suggesting a tax refund check should be sent out in July next year financed by a portion of the budget savings. He said 20% of DOGE’s targeted $2 trillion in savings would result in a $5,000 check for each household.
Musk responded, saying he will “will check with the president.”
