House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., distanced himself from a proposal championed by President Donald Trump and billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk that would use savings from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to distribute stimulus checks to Americans, The Hill reported.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, Johnson addressed the idea when questioned by Newsmax host Rob Finnerty, expressing skepticism despite its political appeal.

“Well, look. I mean, politically that would be great for us, you know, it gives everybody a check,” Johnson said. “But if you think about our core principles, right, fiscal responsibility is what we do as conservatives. That’s our brand. And we have a $36 trillion federal debt; we have a giant deficit that we’re contending with. I think we need to pay down the credit card, right?”

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