Donald Trump To Appoint Elon Musk As ‘Secretary of Cost-Cutting’
Former President Donald Trump has suggested that Elon Musk could play a key role in his potential second administration as “Secretary of Cost-Cutting”.
In an interview with Maria Bartiromo, Trump praised Musk for his business acumen and ability to reduce costs.
He said the Tesla and SpaceX CEO is “dying” to take on the task of trimming government expenses. However, Musk would not hold a formal cabinet position.
“He doesn’t want to be in the cabinet. He just wants to be in charge of cost-cutting,” Donald Trump.
He added that Musk had promised to reduce costs without negatively impacting services.
Trump also highlighted Musk’s ongoing efforts with space exploration, claiming the billionaire is committed to sending a rocket to Mars before the end of Trump’s administration.
Musk’s track record in cost-cutting has been most notable at X, formerly Twitter, where he laid off a significant portion of the workforce after purchasing the company in 2022.
Trump expressed confidence in Musk’s abilities, calling him a “great guy” and mentioning his endorsement of Trump’s campaign.
Musk has appeared at rallies in support of Trump, signaling a close relationship between the two.
unbranded – Newsworthy
On election day, Jeanne Fermier gathered the mail at her suburban York home and found something unusual.
It was a pressure sealed check – one of those perforated envelopes used to mail checks – from something called the United States of America Inc. located in Austin, Texas.
She tore it open and found a check for $100. The memo listed “America PAC Petition.”
A little research revealed that the check had come from a PAC led by billionaire Elon Musk, and it was intended as payment for signing a petition he had started to drum up support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Musk had pledged to send every person who signed the petition or referred another to sign it either $47 in most swing states or $100 in Pennsylvania, sweetening the pot for voters in the crucial commonwealth.
There was one problem with that, though.
“I did not do it,” Fermier said. “I did not want to do it. I did not intend to do it. I did not provide my information on that petition.”
She is not sure how it happened. She checked with her friends, believing that one may have signed her name onto the online petition as a prank, but none owned up to it.
“I have no idea how my personal data got entered onto that petition,” she said. “Someone did it without my permission and without my knowledge.”
The online petition, offered by Musk’s America PAC, was billed as a “Petition in Favor of Free Speech and the Right to Bear Arms.” The text read, “The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.”
It said its goal was “to get 1 million registered voters in swing states to sign in support of the Constitution, especially freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. This program was exclusively open to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgie, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina.” The petition required signers to provide their full name, address, cell phone number and email address. The offer expired Nov. 5.
Some legal scholars have suggested the payment may have violated federal election law, which prohibits payments by political parties and others for votes. The law also extends to those who solicit or receive such payments, which means that cashing the check may carry some legal liability.
Musk’s efforts on behalf of Trump have been marked by controversy. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Musk, accusing the billionaire of running an illegal lottery by giving away $1 million to a Pennsylvania voter every day leading up to the election. Although Musk’s website claimed the voters were chosen at random, his lawyer argued in court that they were pre-selected and that the giveaway did not constitute a lottery.
Coincidentally, some of those who signed the petition have complained that they have not received the promised payments. A Chester County Democrat who signed the petition told WHYY-FM in Philadelphia that he signed the petition on Oct. 21 and had not received his promised check or any communication from the PAC. The radio station reported that the payments “have been inconsistent.”
According to the PAC’s website, the payments are being processed and that “due to volume, payments may still trickle out until the end of November.”
The website also claimed, “Before payment is made, America PAC will verify the accuracy of all information of the referrer and referee.”
Fermier said her information was not verified by her. She is registered with no party affiliation and wondered whether that had any role in her receiving the payment on election day.
She said she has “no intention” to cash the check even though it does mean that it would be 100 fewer dollars in the bank account of the world’s richest person.
“I did not want the money,” she said. “Here I am. I did not sign the petition. I did not want the money, and I have a check for $100 in my desk drawer.”
America PAC could not immediately be reached for comment.
Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a York Daily Record staffer since 1982. Reach him at [email protected].
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Publish date : 2024-11-12 05:09:00
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