Donald Trump has floated the idea of working side-by-side with famed tech mogul and Tesla founder Elon Musk over the past few weeks.
And over the weekend, Trump made it official that he wants Musk on his cabinet should he become president.
But it’s not for a position you know of… yet.
During an interview yesterday with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures”, Trump said Musk will be the “Secretary of Cost-Cutting” in his administration should he win next month’s election.
Donald Trump says Elon Musk is going to be the "Secretary of Cost Cutting" and that he's going to help the United States go to Mars.pic.twitter.com/2gixN9WdN5
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) October 13, 2024
The position — and the question — were fueled by Trump’s desire to slash certain government agencies.
When asked by Bartiromo what agencies he wanted to shut down, Trump said:
“Well, let me ask have you ask another person that, because I’m going to have Elon Musk, he is dying to do this. You know he’s a great business guy, actually.”
“You think of him for science and rockets, and every time he’s telling me about a new screw that was developed, he’s developed a new screw,” he continued. “Screws are difficult. And it’s made out of titanium and it’s so exciting.”
Here’s the catch.
Trump said that the new-found position would not technically be a “cabinet” position because Musk does not want to be in the cabinet.
“He wants to be in charge of cost-cutting,” Trump said. “We’ll have a new position, Secretary of Cost-Cutting, okay? Elon wants to do that. He’s running a big business. He can’t just say I think I’ll go into the cabinet. Other people can, he can’t. Elon’s a little bit different.”
Trump added that Musk promised to go to Mars before the end of Trump’s term, should Trump win again, which would be “long before” China or Russia.
“But you know what? He’s a great business guy, and he’s a great cost-cutter, he added. “You’ve seen that. Cost cutter. And he said I could cut cost without affecting anybody.”
Musk recently appeared at a rally for Trump, and has noted that he wants to work directly with Trump should he win the election in November.