Donald Trump, the U.S. penny.Photo:Luke Hales/Getty; Getty
Luke Hales/Getty; Getty
President Donald Trumpannounced this weekend that he has instructed the Treasury Department to stop producing new pennies, in an effort to “rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget.”
On Sunday, Feb. 9, the 78-year-old president revealed on hisTruth Socialplatform that he was taking action against the further minting of the penny — which the U.S. began producing back in 1787.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump wrote. “This is so wasteful!”
“I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies,” he added, referring to Scott Bessent. “Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation[']s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”
The president sent out the message at 9:27 p.m., apparently not long after heattended the first half of the Super Bowlin New Orleans.
Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York City on May 30, 2024.James Devaney/GC
James Devaney/GC
Per theU.S. Mint’s annual reportin 2024, the production and distribution of the penny cost roughly 3.69 cents, marking the 19th consecutive fiscal year it has “remained above face value.” Similarly, the cost of the nickel was more to produce than its own value, at 13.78 cents.
“The process of discontinuing the penny in the U.S. is a little unclear," Northeastern University economics professor Robert K. Triest previously said, per the AP. “It would likely require an act of Congress, but the Secretary of the Treasury might be able to simply stop the minting of new pennies.”
The U.S. isn’t the first nation to reconsider the single cent. The Royal Canadian Mint previously announced it would no longer be distributing its own pennies in 2012, citing a “burden to the economy," perCNN.
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Donald Trump and Elon Musk watch SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship lift off for a test flight on Nov. 19, 2024.Brandon Bell/Pool via AP
Brandon Bell/Pool via AP
On Friday, he wrote on Truth Social that he intended to terminate current officials and replace the board’s chairman with himself, in an effort to make the cultural center “great again.” In response that night, the Kennedy Centerrevealedthat it had “received no official communications from the White House” regarding Trump’s declared changes.
source: people.com
