🔵 Trump’s DOGE Checks

Author

Citizen Frank
February 20, 2025

Good evening. It’s Wednesday, February 19.

 

The Trump administration is considering a “DOGE Dividend” that would distribute checks to U.S. taxpayers, funded by savings from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative led by Elon Musk to cut federal spending.

Proposed by investment CEO James Fishback, the plan would allocate 20% of DOGE’s savings to taxpayers and 20% to debt reduction, with the remaining 60% unaccounted for in public statements8. While DOGE claims $55 billion in savings so far, independent analyses suggest this figure is inflated, with only $8.6 billion verified through canceled contracts36.

President Trump endorsed the idea at a Miami investment conference on February 20, 2025, stating it would incentivize Americans to report government waste.

Interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin in Washington, D.C., announced a new investigation on Wednesday, dubbed “Operation Whirlwind,” in response to threats allegedly directed at federal employees working under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Martin specifically named Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as a subject of a threats probe, pointing to the senator’s fiery 2020 remarks referencing “the whirlwind.” While Schumer’s office says the senator apologized at the time for his language and clarified he was referencing “political consequences,” Martin claims he is seeking an explanation.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Justice Department’s emergency request to reinstate former President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship.

The order, signed on Trump’s first day back in office, sought to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. if their parents are illegals or hold temporary legal status.

The court’s decision leaves the policy blocked nationwide, teeing up a likely emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order aboard Air Force One prohibiting all federal taxpayer-funded benefits from going to immigrants in the country illegally.

The order directs federal agencies to identify and halt any flow of public benefits to illegal migrants, tighten eligibility verification, and cut funding to “sanctuary” jurisdictions.’

“My Administration will uphold the rule of law, defend against the waste of hard-earned taxpayer resources, and protect benefits for American citizens in need, including individuals with disabilities and veterans,” read the text of Trump’s order.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo is widely expected to announce his candidacy for New York City’s 2025 mayoral race by the end of February, according to multiple local media reports.

A recent poll suggests that Cuomo would enter as the Democratic frontrunner, far outpacing incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and other challengers:

• Andrew Cuomo 32%

• Scott Stringer 10%

• Brad Lander 8%

• St. Sen. Jessica Ramos 6%

• Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani 6%

• Mayor Eric Adams 6%

President Donald Trump’s administration on February 19, 2025, revoked federal approval for New York City’s congestion pricing plan, halting the recently launched toll that charges drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy contended the program “unfairly burdens working people” and “provides no free highway option.”

The abrupt decision fulfilled Trump’s campaign pledge to end what he dubbed the “congestion tax,” reversing a Biden-era pilot approval and setting off a looming court battle between New York State and the federal government.

A BBC documentary about life in Gaza has ignited controversy after it emerged that one of its child narrators is allegedly the son of a Hamas leader. Critics accuse the broadcaster of “blindly spouting propaganda,” alleging the program served as a Hamas mouthpiece by omitting the boy’s family ties.

Titled Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, the hour-long film aired in mid-February 2025, following three Palestinian children’s experiences during the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Although the BBC initially defended its editorial oversight, it later issued an apology for not disclosing the child’s background, saying it “had not been informed” of the connection prior to broadcast.

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