In a talk at the Economic Club of New York back in September, Trump pledged to cut the corporate tax rate to 15% from 21% for companies that make their goods in the U.S., reviving a perk that gave a lower rate to domestic manufacturers that the former president’s TCJA eliminated, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Read More: How Trump 2.0 could revamp tax policy

Trump has repeatedly said that his administration would tame inflation and, therefore, lower interest rates. During a speech at the Economic Club of New York in September he said he'd bring mortgage interest rates down to 3% or lower.

Read More: 4 ways Trump's housing plans are expected to hurt homebuyers and 3 ways they could help

But he's also emerged as a key advisor to Trump. Trump has talked about Scott Bessent a lot in his rallies saying, you know, that, you know, that ‘there's a great guy right there. Scott is fantastic.’ And Bessent also helped Trump write some of his key economic policy speeches in the last few months, particularly one at the Economic Club of New York, which came with a lot of fresh news on what kind of agenda Trump would have going forward.

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During a speech in September, to the Economic Club of New York, Trump promised to reduce regulations and open swaths of federal land for large-scale housing construction.

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“We will eliminate regulations that drive up housing costs with the goal of cutting the cost of a new home in half. We think we can do that,” Trump said in September in remarks at the Economic Club of New York.

Read More: Republicans Take Control of the House, Paving the Way for Trump’s Plans on Housing

Speaking at The Economic Club of New York Tuesday, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said that Musk would be lucky to find $200 billion in federal budget cuts since the scope for curbing waste is limited.

Glenn Hubbard, an economist and former dean of Columbia University’s Business School, said it would be very challenging to slash that much spending if interest expenses, entitlement programs and defense were off limits.

On Tuesday, Summers questioned the current Federal Reserve leadership’s focus on interest rate cuts while speaking to an audience at the Economic Club of New York. He said, “My own judgment is that the Fed and markets are still underestimating the overheating risk.”

As if on cue, the latest Consumer Price Index report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today showed that inflation jumped back up in October to 2.6 percent, following the Federal Reserve’s second straight rate cut last week.

Read More: Larry Summers Was Right About Inflation in 2021. Now He Warns Trump Policies Could Reignite It.

Musk would be lucky to find $200 billion in the federal budget, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said at the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday. And adding to the chorus of sound reasoning at that event, Glenn Hubbard, an economist and former dean of Columbia University’s Business School, said: “It’s just mathematically impossible to find $2 trillion.”

Read More: Elon Musk is a showman, not an accountant

Speaking at The Economic Club of New York Tuesday, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said that Musk would be lucky to find $200 billion in federal budget cuts since the scope for curbing waste is limited, CNN reported.

Read more: Elon Musk & Vivek Ramaswamy: Will the DOGE have bite to its bark?

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said in a speech at The Economic Club of New York on Tuesday that Musk would be lucky to find $200 billion worth of cuts, much less $2 trillion, CNN reported.

Read More: Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency will ironically require two men to run it


 

In a talk at the New York Economic Club, Summers says the Jerome Powell-led Federal reserve is still not taking it seriously enough. The video player is currently playing an ad.'My own judgment is that the Fed and markets ae still underestimating the overheating risk,' Summers said.

Read More: Liberal economist Larry Summers issues frightening warning about inflation to Americans following Trump's election

“My own judgement is that the Fed and markets are still underestimating the overheating risk,” Summers said during a conversation hosted by the New York Economic Club. “I ask myself: Why is cutting rates a priority into that environment?”

Read More: Larry Summers sounds the alarm bell on inflation — before Trump even takes office

Ramaswamy ran in the Republican primary in 2024 but went on to become a passionate advocate for Trump on the campaign trail. Trump floated the idea of naming Musk as the head of a government efficiency commission in September during a speech to the New York Economic Club.

Read More: Elon Musk to lead ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ in Trump administration

Speaking at The Economic Club of New York Tuesday, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said that Musk would be lucky to find $200 billion in federal budget cuts since the scope for curbing waste is limited.

Read More: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead new ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ in Trump administration

Musk posted and reposted AI photos of him as the department’s head and said in September he would “look forward to serving America if the opportunity arises.” Around that same time, Trump said during a speech at the Economic Club of New York he would create the department “tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms.”

Read More: Trump Says Elon Musk Will Head New ‘Department Of Government Efficiency’ Alongside Vivek Ramaswamy

In a speech at the Economic Club of New York in September, Trump suggested that in his second administration, Musk could head a "government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government."

Read More: Elon Musk's Chances of Being in Donald Trump's Administration

As a candidate, Donald Trump denounced clean energy spending tied to the Biden administration’s sweeping climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). At his speech before the Economic Club of New York in September, he called the legislation the “greatest scam in history.”

Read More: Trump likely to roll back but not dismantle Biden's clean energy spending

"I stopped wars with the threat of tariffs" he said at the Economic Club of New York on Sept 5. 

Read More: Here’s What Trump’s Return Means for US Sanctions Policy.

Donald J. Trump is interviewed by John Paulson at the Economic Club of New York. Mr. Paulson is perhaps the most traditional Republican voice in the president-elect’s circle. 

Read More: Trump’s Newest Economic Sherpas Are Not Like His Old Ones

Earlier, Trump had announced that if he is elected the President of the US, he will create a government efficiency commission – an idea that was pushed by Musk – adding that the Tesla CEO will be its chief. “We need to do it. Can't go on the way we are now,” Trump said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York, a group of executives and industry leaders, in September.

Read more: "Greatest cutter": Elon Musk has his role cut out in Trump admin