Elon Musk pitches committee to cut government spending to Trump during X conversation

WASHINGTON (TND) — During their conversation on X, Elon Musk pitched himself to Donald Trump as a guy who could help the government cut costs if Trump wins a second term.

“I think it would be great to just have a government efficiency commission that takes a look at these things and, and just ensures that the taxpayer money to the taxpayers, hard earned money is spent in a good way. And I'd be happy to help out on such a commission," Musk told Trump.

The former president was happy to entertain the idea.

“Well, you, you're the greatest cutter. I mean, I look at what you do," Trump said.

The pair didn’t get specific on what cuts would be made, only that there needed to be some under their proposed “Government Efficiency Commission.”

The national debt eclipsed $35 trillion for the first time in late July. The government spends the most on social security at more than $1.2 trillion. Next up isn’t a service at all, it’s actually $763 billion in interest payments outpacing healthcare, Medicare, and defense spending so far this year.

“We can’t ignore the debt anymore. I don’t worry so much about trillions, those are scary numbers, what I worry about is the debt is approaching a record share of the economy," said Marc Goldwein, a senior vice president and senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Finding where to make the cuts will be up to lawmakers as they try to tackle a problem that won't magically go away. The Congressional Budget Office projects debt will balloon to over $56 trillion in the next 10 years.

“You can’t really afford to pick and choose, the truth is all parts of the budget need to be on the table and the tax code does," said Goldwein.

Trump’s vague comments were the closest thing to a debt plan either party has released thus far. There was nothing in the Republican party’s platform put out ahead of their convention last month, and Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to reveal her economic plan.