Donald Trump has announced plans to stop minting “wasteful” pennies as part of his ongoing efforts to cut government spending in the U.S.Today marks exactly three weeks since President Trump returned to the Oval Office for his second term, and he has already introduced a number of changes in that short time.The Republican president has signed multiple executive orders, including lifting the ban on TikTok and declaring that there are “only two genders,” among others.Additionally, he has renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and established the first-ever U.S. wealth fund.Now, Trump has announced plans for the U.S. Treasury to stop producing pennies, as part of his effort to cut spending.

                                      Donald Trump hasn’t stopped with the executive orders

The POTUS claimed that minting pennies is “wasteful” and costs more to produce than their actual value.Taking to Truth Social, the 47th president said: *”For far too long, the United States has minted pennies that literally cost us more than two cents to make.”This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s cut the waste from our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”*The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the government agency led by Elon Musk, has previously stated that minting pennies costs American taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.DOGE is a temporary organization established by Trump with the goal of “dismantling government bureaucracy, slashing excess regulations, cutting wasteful expenditures, and restructuring federal agencies.”The president announced its creation in November last year, appointing Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as its leaders.

                                      Trump has ordered the US Treasury to stop producing ‘wasteful’ pennies

It has since been reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent agreed to allow a team working under DOGE to oversee the Treasury’s payment system, which is responsible for distributing Americans’ tax refunds, Social Security benefits, disability payments, and federal employees’ salaries.It is believed that these team members have had access to the critical payment system since Trump’s inauguration on January 20, but a federal judge recently halted this.U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer issued the order, which also requires DOGE members to destroy any downloaded information from the payment system, CNN reports.A hearing on the matter is scheduled for February 14.