House Speaker Mike Johnson signaled he was not thrilled with President Trump's DOGE stimulus proposal. (Getty Images)
Johnson added there was a "giant deficit" – which is over $838 billion for fiscal year 2025 so far, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center – the U.S. was grappling with as well.
"I think we need to pay down the credit card. That's what I think we need to do," Johnson said.
It comes after President Donald Trump said he was considering giving 20% of DOGE-led savings back to U.S. taxpayers during a speech on Wednesday at the FII Priority Summit in Miami.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading DOGE, said on X Tuesday that he would "check with the president" about the proposal after it was first floated by Azoria investment firm CEO James Fishback.
Reconciliation will allow Johnson and Republicans to side-step House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. (Getty Images)
Under reconciliation, both the Senate and House operate under simple majorities, allowing the party in power to pass a massive budget bill without help from the opposition. Normally, the Senate's threshold for passage is two-thirds.
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"We're going to take a blowtorch to the regulatory state, get the bureaucracy back in check – lots of details, lots of subcategories under all that. But it's going to be a big, beautiful bill. And it has to be by necessity, because that gives us the highest probability of success. Remember that I have a small margin in the House," Johnson said. "I have one vote for much of this."
Extending Trump's tax cuts alone is expected to cost upwards of $4.5 trillion.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/doge-stimulus-checks-johnson-side-steps-question-trump-plan-says-us-has-giant-deficit