Tech billionaire Elon Musk is urging President-elect Donald Trump to take public input before nominating a new secretary of the treasury while also floating his own preference.
Musk expressed his desire for appointment suggestions in a post on X Saturday.
Responding to discussion of potential nominees, the Tesla founder said it “would be interesting to hear more people weigh in on this for [Trump] to consider feedback.”
Taking the opportunity to present his own preference, Musk suggested Trump transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick.
“Howard Lutnick will actually enact change,” Musk said. “Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change one way or another.”
Conversely, the entrepreneur dismissed investor Scott Bessent, another leading contender for the role, as a “business-as-usual choice.”
It’s the latest example of Musk positioning himself close to the Trump transition process, a posture that has been validated by the president-elect’s frequent inclusion of the billionaire in post-election operations.
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Trump announced his intention to appoint Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to head the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump said the goal of the department is to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”
He also reportedly passed the phone to Musk during a brief phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following his election victory.