Trump says he'll ask Elon Musk to lead government efficiency commission if he wins election

Former President Trump said Thursday that he endorsed billionaire Elon Musk's plan for a government efficiency commission and would appoint the entrepreneur to lead the panel if the Republican nominee wins the presidential election.

In a speech on Thursday at the Economic Club of New York, Trump publicly expressed support for the idea for the first time and said that Musk had agreed to head the commission. He also offered a general overview of what he would expect the task force to do.

The government efficiency commission would conduct a financial and performance audit of the federal government and would look to track down fraud and improper payments made from government programs. It would then provide recommendations for "drastic reforms" aimed at promoting efficiency, he explained, with the goal of eliminating fraud and improper payments within six months of the commission being formed.

"I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government," Trump said in his speech.

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Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of social media platform X, acknowledged his agreement to serve on the government efficiency commission and wrote on the X that, "I look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises. No pay, no title, no recognition is needed."

The billionaire entrepreneur, who endorsed Trump in July following the failed assassination attempt on the former president, had suggested the creation of a government efficiency commission last month during a conversation he hosted with the former president on X. He went on to express an interest in contributing to its efforts and said, "I'd be happy to help out on such a commission."

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Trump was later asked if he would hire Musk to serve in his administration, which he said he "certainly would." Musk responded to that news with a post on X featuring an image generated by artificial intelligence (AI) depicting him leading a fictional Department of Government Efficiency and wrote, "I am willing to serve."

About a week later, the former president said that Musk would be too busy to serve in a White House Cabinet role because he's preoccupied with "running big businesses" – though he left open the possibility of him serving as a consultant to a potential Trump administration.

"He can sort of, as the expression goes, consult with the country and give you some very good ideas," Trump said. He suggested that Musk could assist the federal government with AI and other matters.

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Politicians have pushed for government efficiency commissions in the past. Republican President Ronald Reagan established a similar body while he was in office from 1981 to 1989 called the Grace Commission.

Trump's proposal sparked criticism from Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents 750,000 federal workers.

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Kelley accused Trump and Musk of wanting to gut the federal government's nonpartisan civil service to replace fired workers with their allies.

"There's nothing efficient about that," Kelley told Reuters.

Reuters contributed to this report.