James Fishback, CEO of Azoria Investment and the architect behind the proposed “DOGE Dividend” checks, says he is distancing himself from the initiative following Elon Musk’s personal attacks on President Donald Trump.
I believed in Elon Musk’s vision to shrink government and make it work better for Americans. I’m proud of the DOGE Dividend proposal I developed and will keep working with the administration to return savings to taxpayers.
— James Fishback (@j_fishback) June 6, 2025
The truth is that Elon set expectations that he relayed… pic.twitter.com/mBJcII6SXv
Fishback told Politico that while Musk failed to deliver on promises made to the public and the president, the tipping point was Musk’s “baseless personal attacks” on Trump.
Fishback never officially joined the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but played a key role in promoting the idea of returning $400 billion in savings to taxpayers.
The plan would issue checks of up to $5,000, funded by waste-cutting efforts within the federal government. Trump publicly supported the idea in February, calling it a potential benefit of the $2 trillion in projected DOGE savings.
Fishback is also known for launching an anti-woke investment fund in 2024, announced at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
