The countless changes being made by Donald Trump in the United States are also affecting something that has not been touched for decades, the currency. The U.S. President has ordered the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies due to the high cost of producing these coins, as reported by AP.
"For too long, the United States has minted pennies that literally cost us more than two cents. This is wasteful!", Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social profile. "I have instructed my Treasury Secretary to halt the production of new pennies," he stated.
Trump's move adds to a dizzying effort by his new administration to implement radical changes through executive orders and proclamations on issues ranging from immigration to gender and diversity or the name of the Gulf of Mexico.
Trump had not mentioned his desire to eliminate the penny during his campaign. However, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, raised the possibility in a post last month, highlighting the cost of the penny.
The United States Mint reported a loss of $85.3 million in the fiscal year 2024 ending in September on the nearly 3.2 billion pennies it produced. Each penny cost almost $0.037, compared to $0.031 the previous year.
The mint also loses money manufacturing nickels, which cost almost $0.14 each.
It is unclear if Trump has the power to unilaterally eliminate the humble penny. The coin's specifications, such as its size and metallic content, are dictated by Congress.
However, Robert K. Triest, an economics professor at Northeastern University, has argued that there may be room for maneuver. "The process to stop producing the penny in the United States is a bit uncertain. It would likely require intervention from Congress, but the Treasury Secretary could simply halt the minting of new pennies," he said last month.
Congress members have introduced successive measures regarding the zinc-coated copper coin. Proposals over the years have sought to temporarily suspend penny production, remove it from circulation, or require prices to be rounded to the nearest nickel multiple, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Supporters of eliminating the penny have cited cost savings, which would make cash register reconciliations faster, and the fact that several countries have already phased out their one-cent coins. Canada, for example, stopped minting its penny in 2012.
This would not be the first time the United States has phased out its lowest-value coin. Congress halted the production of the half-cent coin in 1857.
Trump's new administration has been intensely focused on cost reduction. Musk, who has been recruited to lead the effort, has targeted entire agencies and large segments of the federal workforce while aiming to achieve a $2 trillion savings goal.
"Let's root out waste from our great nation's budget, even if it's a penny at a time," he wrote.