Trump uses Elon Musk’s plan to implement ‘drastic reform’ of government

“At the request of Elon Musk,” Trump said in a speech, “I will create a commission on government efficiency to conduct a full financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and make recommendations for drastic reforms.”

The idea partly stems from a recent conversation Musk and Trump had on Spaces, a live-streaming service hosted on X. During the discussion, Musk said he would be “happy to help” with a government efficiency commission, to which Trump responded that he would “love it” if that happened.

Musk also responded to a post on X on Tuesday that said Trump was considering the Tesla CEO for the position of state auditor: “I can’t wait. There is a lot of waste and unnecessary regulation in government that needs to be removed.”

Musk’s support for reducing waste of government funds comes after his conflict with the government on several issues, including the Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the company’s purchase of Twitter.

It’s unclear how big of a role Musk could play if Trump wins the election — Trump said last week on The Shawn Ryan Show that Musk likely wouldn’t be able to serve in the Cabinet, given that he “runs big companies and stuff.”

However, Trump noted in his speech that “Elon, because he is not too busy, has agreed to head this task force,” adding that he “would be a good candidate for the job.”

Still, the idea of ​​addressing government efficiency is something Trump supports, with The Washington Post recently reporting that Trump’s advisers want to bring in corporate leaders to help identify excess spending.

While details about exactly what Trump’s commission will look like are sketchy, the Post reported that former Trump adviser Steve Moore said it was modeled after former President Ronald Reagan’s Grace Commission as a framework. Established in 1982, Reagan’s commission focused on “draining the swamp,” or in other words, eliminating government inefficiencies.

The commission issued a report in 1984 that concluded that if the government followed its recommendations, it could save $424 billion over three years. However, Congress ultimately did not adopt many of those recommendations.

In addition to the commission, Trump has also focused on a series of actions to address inflation and the economy, including imposing broad tariffs on China and ensuring that Social Security benefits are not taxed.

“I promise low taxes, low regulations, low energy costs, low interest rates, secure borders, low, low, low crime and rising incomes for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed,” Trump said.

The event deepened Trump’s ties with Musk

Musk and Trump have a rocky relationship, though the tech giant has forged an increasingly close bond with the former president in recent months.

Before the 2016 election, Musk told CNBC that Trump was unfit to be president. He later served on economic advisory boards but resigned in protest of then-President Trump’s environmental stances. By 2020, the two had grown closer as Trump showed support for Musk amid the Tesla CEO’s clash with California public health officials over COVID-19 policy.

After buying Twitter in 2022, Musk signaled he would welcome Trump back to the platform that paved the way for his presidency but banned him after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump and Musk continued to trade barbs throughout the rest of the year, but the Tesla CEO began to espouse increasingly conservative views. Just before the 2022 midterm elections, Musk encouraged people to vote Republican.

Musk and other Silicon Valley titans initially rallied behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ahead of the 2024 GOP primary. But after DeSantis fizzled out, it became clear that Trump would once again become the GOP nominee. Musk, the world’s richest man, has insisted he would not donate to either candidate. It was later revealed that he had invested millions of dollars to help launch a pro-Trump super PAC. Musk endorsed Trump after the former president survived an assassination attempt in July.

Trump later suggested that Musk could join his potential Cabinet. Musk also attacked Vice President Kamala Harris, sharing an AI-generated image of her in communist garb.