'Makes sense': GOP, Dems unite behind Trump's plan to fire the penny
2025-02-13
Category: political

Washington D.C. – Democratic and Republican lawmakers found consensus about President Donald Trump in his decision to eliminate the penny, telling Fox News Digital on Capitol Hill that it "makes sense" to stop making cents. Trump announced on Sunday that he was instructing the Treasury Department to stop producing new pennies, writing in a Truth Social post that it costs more than two cents to mint a single one-cent coin. Fox News Digital asked members of Congress for their two cents about Trump eliminating the coin, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle saying they agree with his decision.&nbsp; Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., speaking to Fox News Digital, said eliminating the penny "might be the best" thing Trump has done since taking office. HOW TRUMP MIGHT GET RID OF THE PENNY - AND WHAT COULD COME NEXT FOR YOUR POCKET CHANGE  "In all the things he's done in his first month in office, that might be the best," Moskowitz told Fox. "We haven't printed the penny since 2023, so I'm good with him eliminating it." DEMOCRAT SENATOR BACKS TRUMP'S ‘COMMON SENSE MOVE’ TO FIRE THE PENNY Standing with Moskowitz was Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. "I agree with eliminating the penny," he said.  "It costs more to make a penny than it's worth, so if that's what he wants to do, that's fine," another Democrat, Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., said. According to the U.S. Mint, the government agency that makes coins, the Treasury Department lost more than $85 million on the pennies they produced in 2024. "If it takes two cents to make one cent, it kinda makes sense, doesn't it?" Rep. Carlos Giménez, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., said it "makes financial sense" given that the cost to make a penny is more than the coin is worth.  Rep. George Latimer, D-N.Y., said he is talking to local businesses in his communities, and will support the route that best accommodates them. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "I've talked to some local businesses in our community to see how that affects them. And the question would be, does it make their life easier or more difficult?" Latimer said. "If they tell me, it's easier, then it's a good decision. They tell me it's more difficult when they have to calculate sales tax and things that don't even out to zeros or fives, then it's not a good idea."