Former US President Donald Trump (2016-2021) and Republican candidate for the US presidency said on Thursday that if he returns to the White House he will create a government efficiency commission, thus adopting a political idea presented to him by businessman Elon Musk, one of his closest allies in recent times, and which Musk himself will chair, according to Trump.
“I will create a government efficiency commission charged with conducting a full financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for the drastic reforms that need to be made. We cannot continue as we are now,” said the Republican candidate at the Economic Club of New York.
Trump explained that the goal of this commission would be to identify ways to eliminate unnecessary spending: “This commission will develop an action plan to totally eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months. This will save trillions of dollars.”
Trump described Musk, who Forbes says is the richest person in the world, as “a nice, smart guy” who knows what he is “doing.” In this election, in which Trump will face Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in November, Musk has announced his support for the Republican tycoon.
In mid-August, Elon Musk interviewed Trump on his social network X and suggested the presidential candidate form a commission to address government spending as a way to tackle inflation. Musk said then that he “would be happy to help on such a commission” and today he posted on X that he hopes to “serve the United States if the opportunity arises” and that he does not need a salary, a title or recognition.
Trump said from New York that Musk is already very busy with his companies, but that the businessman has “agreed to step forward.” However, Musk’s businesses, such as Tesla or SpaceX, could interfere with this position with conflicts of interest, since they are regulated by several federal agencies.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is one of SpaceX’s largest customers. Tesla’s car sales and energy business are subsidized by federal tax credits, and its Social Network X is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission.
In addition, his brain implant company Neuralink is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In his speech, Trump also said that the United States needs to fight China to combat its massive electricity production to power artificial intelligence companies and that it will turn the United States into the world capital of cryptocurrencies and bitcoin.
Trump also promised to cut the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15%, but only “for companies that make their products in the United States,” as well as expand tariffs on products imported from abroad.
Source: www.eldiario.es
