Would Elon Musk have a role in the US government if Donald Trump wins the election?
Speaking in New York, Trump outlined his economic plan which includes Elon Musk’s plan for a government efficiency commission that he has agreed to head.
Former President Donald Trump returned to his hometown on Thursday to speak to the Economic Club of New York. There the Republican 2024 nominee laid out his economic plans which he would implement if he returned to the White House. During his remarks Trump formally endorsed Elon Musk’s plan for a commission that would audit government spending and regulations.
“At the suggestion of Elon Musk… I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms,” Trump said.
Would Elon Musk have a role in the US government if Donald Trump wins the election?
“Elon, because he’s not very busy, has agreed to head that task force,” the Republican nominee said during his address to the club. “It’ll be interesting, if he has the time,” Trump added.
“As it’s first order of business, this commission will develop an action plan to totally eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months,” Trump said, adding that it will save “trillions of dollars.”
Reuters reports that for weeks prior to Thursday, Trump had been mulling over the idea of such a commission with aides. The idea among those in Trump’s orbit of drastically cutting the size of the federal government is nothing new.
Project 2025, a roadmap for a second Trump administration developed by a group of conservative organizations led by the Heritage Foundation, outlines overhauling several federal agencies and eliminating the Department of Education. It also includes plans to make it much easier to fire federal employees by removing job protections, whose positions could then be filled with political appointees.
Trump has tried to distance himself as backlash towards its proposals has grown saying, “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it.” However, many of those who drew up those proposals worked in the last Trump administration.
One of Project 2025′s architects, Russell Vought, was caught on camera in an undercover investigation that further eroded the notion that Trump is completely oblivious to the proposals, who created them and that he has “nothing to do with them.” The former Director of the Office of Management and Budget who served at the end of the Trump administration, explained that he had told Trump of his plans before leaving the White House and that currently their “relationship is great.”