(Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump hinted at a creating new White House position if re-elected next month, saying he would make billionaire Elon Musk his “secretary of cost cutting,” Rolling Stone reported.
Trump made the comment during an interview for Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, after being asked whether he plans to address the federal government’s bloated bureaucracy and, if so, which agencies he would consider cutting.
“You’ve also said that there’s a lot of fat in government that you would want to part of,” Bartiromo said. “So, what agencies would you want to shut down?”
Trump said Musk—whose portfolio of companies includes SpaceX, X and Tesla—would be better suited to answer the question.
“Let me have you ask another person that, because I’m going to have Elon Musk. He is dying to do this,” Trump said.
“You know, he’s a great business guy,” the former president continued. “You think of him for science and rockets, but you know what? He’s a great business guy, and he’s a great cost-cutter. You’ve seen that. And he said, ‘I could cut costs without affecting anybody.’”
When asked if that meant Musk would be given an official Cabinet position in the prospective Republican administration, Trump said Musk’s role would be informal.
“Not in the Cabinet. He doesn’t want to be in the Cabinet; he just wants to be in charge of cost-cutting,” Trump said. “We’ll have a new position: secretary of cost-cutting. OK? Elon wants to do that.”
Trump went on to hint that the reason Musk doesn’t want a formal Cabinet position is because he’s “running a big business” and would likely have to make certain divestments to accept the position.
“And besides that, I want him to send a rocket up to Mars,” Trump added. “He’s made me a promise, he’ll get to Mars before the end of my administration—which will be long before, hopefully, China or Russia.”
Trump previously floated a potential role for Musk after the tech mogul endorsed Trump this summer. Musk expressed interest in return, saying, “I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises. No pay, no title, no recognition is needed.”
