Elon Musk could be among corporate leaders brought in under a second Trump administration to compile a list of federal excess, The Washington Post reported.
Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX, has expressed interest on X, his social media platform, in being part of a "government efficiency commission" aimed at eliminating wasteful regulations and spending.
Other people being mentioned for a commission among Trump allies include former FedEx CEO Fred Smith and former Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli, the Post reported.
"It should be a high priority. We have a lot of spending and waste to cut if we're going to extend the Trump tax cuts or do these other things he wants to do," economist Steve Moore said of establishing a commission. "You'll have to find redundancies and inefficiencies and obsolescence, but the good news is we haven't done this in a couple decades."
After recently saying he'd consider Musk for a Cabinet position in a new administration, and the billionaire adding he's open to it, Trump said the Tesla and SpaceX CEO wouldn't have time to be in the Cabinet due to demands of running his various companies.
However, Trump added that Musk could "consult."
"He wants to be involved, but look, he's running big businesses and all that ... so he can't really" be in the Cabinet, Trump said on the Shawn Ryan Show. "He can sort of, as the expression goes, consult with the country and give you some very good ideas."
Trump advisers want to bring in prominent corporate leaders to compile a high-profile list of federal excess along the lines of what was done previously by President Ronald Reagan and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who once published an annual "Waste Book" on allegedly frivolous spending, the Post reported.
The outlet added that some people, though, are concerned about potential conflicts of interest between such a government post and Musk's business empire.
"It raises questions that the commission's focus is on saving taxpayer dollars, but you have someone potentially involved whose company is one of the biggest recipients of federal spending," said Anna Massoglia, a money in politics expert at the nonprofit organization OpenSecrets, the Post reported.
"Cracking down on government waste and abuse is important, but we also need to have accountability mechanisms so private sector actors involved in this kind of program can't manipulate it for personal gain."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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