Donald Trump announced in a speech on Thursday that if elected, he would create a government efficiency commission, a policy idea that Elon Musk has pushed for Trump, and Trump claimed the tech billionaire has agreed to lead the commission.
Trump made the high-profile announcement during a campaign event at the Economic Club of New York but did not provide specific details about how the committee would operate.
He repeated Musk’s argument that such a committee would cut unnecessary spending and said it would roll back significant government regulations.
“I will establish a Commission on Government Efficiency tasked with conducting a full financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and recommending fundamental reforms,” Trump told the crowd.
Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has fully supported Trump’s campaign, and the two have become increasingly close allies over the past year. Musk’s endorsement of Trump gives the world’s richest man more direct influence over Republican policy and, if Trump does establish an efficiency commission, could give him broad powers over federal agencies.
Musk’s involvement in Trump’s proposed commission would create a clear conflict of interest because his businesses, including SpaceX and Neuralink, are regulated by and do business with numerous government agencies.
Musk reposted news of Trump’s plan on “X,” the platform formerly known as Twitter, which he bought for $44 billion, suggesting he’d be open to such a role. “If given the opportunity, I’d love to serve America,” Musk wrote. “No salary, title or recognition needed.”
Musk raised the idea of an efficiency commission with Trump in an interview with X last month, offering to “cooperate on such a commission.” Musk is a frequent advocate of deregulation and is opposed to government oversight of business, but at the same time he is facing investigations and lawsuits over a range of allegations, including labor violations, animal welfare violations and sexual harassment.
While Musk and Trump once had a strained relationship — Trump once called Musk a “bullshit man” and Musk said Trump was too old to run for president — the two have developed a symbiotic relationship in recent months.
Musk, who frequently interacts with far-right activists and promotes anti-immigrant content on X, has attacked Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris as a communist, while his tech industry allies have poured money into a super PAC supporting Trump.