Trump Plans To Put Elon Musk In Charge Of US Government Audit

Former President Donald Trump outlined his economic plans if he wins the November election with some familiar refrains -- lower corporate taxes, higher Chinese tariffs and a rollback of President Joe Biden's policies.

However, the proposal that caught the most eyes was his plan to appoint billionaire Elon Musk to head a new efficiency commission that would involve an in-depth audit of the government to eliminate wasteful spending, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

"This commission will develop an action plan to totally eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months," Trump told a group of business executives on Thursday at the Economic Club of New York.

Trump claimed that Musk proposed the idea and joked that the billionaire entrepreneur has spare time to take on the new role. The owner of X, Tesla, SpaceX and other tech companies seemed willing to take the former president up on the idea.

"I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises," Musk posted Thursday on X in response Trump's comment. "No pay, no title, no recognition is needed."

The proposed plan to utilize Musk in leading the audit is designed to roll back many of the programs created under President Joe Biden. Details about the exact role of Musk and the use of the internal audit were not revealed.

Trump also pushed his other plans to turn around the U.S. economy, like lowering the corporate tax rate to 15% from its current 21% level, targeting Chinese companies with massive tariffs, and eliminating taxes on tips and Social Security benefits.