Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump delivers a speech at the Economic Club of New York on September 5, 2024 in New York.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
NEW YORK—Former President Donald Trump A new set of economic policy recommendations were released on Thursday, including Tesla CEO MuskThe idea of creating a government efficiency commission to eliminate wasteful federal spending is an attempt Biden–Harris Government spending levels.
“This committee will develop an action plan to completely eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months,” Trump said in remarks to a room full of business executives. economic club of new york.
He added that Musk could be a “good choice” to lead the committee “given time.”
Trump’s embrace of Musk’s ideas is the latest sign that their alliance is heating up, a sharp reversal from two years ago when the two feuded publicly and exchanged public insults.
The Trump campaign said: “When Elon started talking to the president, I think the president was very excited because someone like Elon Musk is so committed to the future of America that he wanted to be a part of something that would help the government work more effectively.
Hughes added that details on how the efficiency committee would be staffed and operate have yet to be released.
But Musk repeatedly raised his hand to take charge of such a committee: “Given the opportunity, I look forward to serving the United States. No pay, no title, no recognition,” the billionaire entrepreneur reiterated in a statement. thursday post on X.
The Council on Government Efficiency plan also provides Trump with a concrete recommendation to respond to his attacks on the Biden-Harris administration’s frivolous spending.
“It’s time to send Comrade Kamala Harris back home to California,” Trump said in a speech on Thursday. “She wants four more years to implement a radical left-wing agenda that will be critical to every American family.” We’re talking about a fundamental threat to America’s own prosperity.”
So far, Trump’s economic proposals have come with their own set of steep price tags.
In his speech on Thursday, Trump doubled down on potentially costly proposals such as lowering the corporate tax rate to 15% from the current level of 21% and deepening his first-term tax cuts to lower the tax rate from 35%. He also reiterated his commitment to eliminating the tip tax and Social Security benefits.
a recent study Penn Wharton Budget Model Estimates are that Trump’s proposal could increase the federal deficit nearly five times more than what Harris has unveiled so far. It’s an open question whether the savings from the Council on Government Efficiency, launched by Musk, will be offset by an increase in the fiscal deficit.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the issue.
The former president pledged to repeal certain funds in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. “I promise low taxes, low regulations, low energy costs,” he said.
Trump also praised some of his first-term policy decisions, including tough tariffs on China and cutting the corporate tax rate to 21%.
“I care about our economy as much as I care about my own company,” Trump said.
Thursday’s speech comes as Trump works to harden his policy positions, five days before he is scheduled to face Harris in a debate hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10.
Some of Trump’s economic proposals, such as plans to impose sweeping tariffs on all imports, have met with fierce opposition from economists and Wall Street analysts.
For example, Goldman Sachs said in an analyst note on Tuesday that Trump’s proposals could weaken GDP growth. They also said a hypothetical Harris administration might be better for the U.S. economy. The Trump campaign flatly rejected the idea Thursday.
“They push this type of material into a political environment and then take no responsibility for how it turns out,” Hughes, a Trump campaign adviser, said of Goldman Sachs.
The multinational investment bank’s assessment of competing economic scenarios is part of a proprietary research document created for Goldman Sachs’ clients, not the public.
— CNBC’s Josephine Rozzelle contributed to this report.
