Trump directs Treasury Department to cease production of pennies

Some of the moves and decisions being made by President Donald Trump in his first month back in the White House are truly incredible.

His latest directive is no exception. According to Breitbart, Trump has directed his U.S. Treasury Secretary to cease the production of pennies, which actually cost more to produce than what they're worth.

Under Trump's direction, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will instruct the Treasury Department to halt the production of pennies, which Trump revealed actually cost more than two cents to make.

Elon Musk's Department Of Government Efficiency brought the waste to light, highlighting in a social media post how much U.S. taxpayers spend to produce pennies that are worth less than the price of production.

What's going on?

The DOGE post that pointed out the costs associated with producing pennies was eye-opening, to say the least.

"The penny costs over 3 cents to make and cost US taxpayers over $179 million in FY2023. The Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies in FY2023, around 40% of the 11.4 billion coins for circulation produced. Penny (or 3 cents!) for your thoughts," DOGE wrote.

The penny costs over 3 cents to make and cost US taxpayers over $179 million in FY2023.

The Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies in FY2023, around 40% of the 11.4 billion coins for circulation produced.

Penny (or 3 cents!) for your thoughts.

Sources:https://t.co/Y5LlrpyA62…

— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) January 22, 2025

In a Truth Social post, the president made his case for ordering the end of penny production.

"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. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time," he continued.

Social media reacts

Many cheered the idea of getting rid of the penny, but others expressed concerns that it feels too close to the beginning of eliminating cash.

"We’re keeping our pennies. It’s un-American otherwise," one X user wrote.

Another X user wrote, "We don’t need 1¢ in our money system. We do need a $500 or $1000 bill with President Trump's face on it."

Only time will tell how the elimination of the penny affects everyday Americans, but we'll probably survive, and save the government money at the same time .