Trump orders Treasury Department to halt penny production, cites 'wasteful' costs
US president says minting pennies costs more than their value, calls for budget efficiency
WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he ordered the Treasury Department to stop producing pennies.
"For far too long, the United States has minted pennies, which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!" he said on his Truth Social platform.
"I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let's rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it's a penny at a time," he added.
Currently, the US has six circulating coin denominations: the penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar and dollar.
Since 2006, producing a penny has cost more than its value, reaching 2.10 cents in 2021.
Congress has proposed Government Accountability Office (GAO) studies on costs, but no measures have passed.
