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CV NEWS FEED // Republican nominee former President Donald Trump will adopt a plan proposed by Elon Musk to make the federal government more efficient and less costly, with the tech billionaire agreeing to head up the effort.
Per multiple sources, Musk’s proposed plan includes both corporate tax cuts and slashing government regulations of companies.
“At the suggestion of Elon Musk who has given me his complete and total endorsement … I will create a government efficiency commission,” Trump told the Economic Club of New York in a speech Thursday afternoon.
The 45th president explained that the proposed commission will be “tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government.”
It will also be responsible for “making recommendations for drastic reforms,” Trump said. “We need to do it. Can’t go on the way we are now.”
“And Elon … has agreed to head that task force,” the former president indicated.
>> AUGUST: TRUMP SITS DOWN WITH MUSK HOURS AFTER RETURNING TO X <<
Trump stated that “in 2022, fraud and improper payments alone cost taxpayers an estimated hundreds of billions of dollars.”
“As the first order of business, this commission will develop an action plan to totally eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months,” he outlined. “This will save trillions of dollars.”
Trump said that under current government regulations “trillions of dollars is wasted and gone and nobody knows where it went.”
Trump complimented Musk, calling him a “smart guy” who “knows what he’s doing.”
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) noted that during Musk’s conversation with Trump last month, “the entrepreneur suggested Trump form a commission tackling government spending as a way to address inflation.”
WSJ added:
Musk’s businesses including Tesla and SpaceX are regulated by several federal agencies, potentially leading to conflicts of interest should he become actively involved in a commission on government spending.
SpaceX’s most important customers include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which relies on the rocket company to transport astronauts to the space station, and the Pentagon, which uses SpaceX to launch national security satellites. Tesla’s car sales and energy business are also subsidized by federal tax credits and grants issued from various agencies.
Musk’s social-media platform X is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission, and his brain implant startup Neuralink is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
>> JULY: MUSK ENDORSES TRUMP AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT <<
The New York Post reported that under the current Biden-Harris administration, “the national debt has jumped more than $7.5 trillion to $35.3 trillion.”
Hours before Trump’s remarks, Musk responded to media reports that the Republican nominee was set to embrace his idea.
“I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises,” Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “No pay, no title, no recognition is needed.”
Trump noted in his remarks that, during his previous term in office, he “cut a record number of job-killing regulations.”
“In four years, we cut more regulation than any president in the history of our country, by far,” he said. Trump added that he’s “proud to be the only president in modern history to achieve a net regulatory reduction.”
“And it was a substantial reduction,” he said. “For every regulation we added, we cut 5.5 regulations.”
“I am promising low taxes, low regulations, low energy costs, low interest rates, secure borders, low, low, low crime, and surging incomes for citizens of every race, religion, color, and creed,” Trump said.
>> LAST MONTH: HARRIS UNVEILS ECONOMIC AGENDA <<
“I’m pledging today that in my second term, we will eliminate a minimum of ten old regulations for every one new regulation,” the former president vowed later in his speech. “We’ll be able to do that quite easily.”
Trump also contrasted his proposed economic policies with those of Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
“My plan will rapidly defeat inflation, quickly bring down prices, and reignite explosive economic growth,” he said. “Kamala Harris will take more money out of American pockets. My plan will leave the typical family with many thousands of dollars more than they have right now.”
“It will be an economic revival of our country like no one has ever seen before,” Trump emphasized.
