|
Listen to article
|
In a move he described as a step toward fiscal responsibility, US President Donald Trump revealed on Sunday that he had instructed the Treasury to cease minting penny coins, citing the need to curb unnecessary government spending.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” he added.
The Department of Government Efficiency—an initiative spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk to reduce federal expenditures—drew attention to the cost of minting pennies in a January post on X. The debate over the financial viability of penny production is longstanding in the United States, with multiple congressional bills seeking to eliminate the coin, though none have successfully passed.
Read also: Donald Trump Kick-Starts Moves To End Ukraine, Russian War
While congressional approval may be necessary to formally enact Trump’s order, Northeastern University economist Robert Triest argued in January that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent could potentially end penny production without it.
Triest suggested that eliminating pennies could lead to prices being rounded to the nearest five cents. Canada took this step in 2012, pointing to the inefficiency of producing each penny at 1.6 cents and the impact of inflation on its value.
Trump has made cutting the federal budget a prominent part of his new administration, with Musk’s DOGE team being tasked with investigating government spending. However, the legality of some of the administration’s efforts — including slashing the US Agency for International Development’s headcount — has been challenged in court by Democrats and labor unions.
