Musk wants public to have say on selection of ministers

As US president-elect Donald Trump makes several choices to fill out his incoming administration's cabinet, the lobbying for key positions has been fierce behind closed doors - and sometimes publicly.

- WILL WEISSERT

Now billionaire and key Trump ally Elon Musk is calling for more direct public input into the decision-making process for at least one top post – the head of the Treasury Department.

“Would be interesting to hear more people weigh in on this for realDonaldTrump to consider feedback,” Mr Musk, who Mr Trump has already tapped to co-lead a commission tasked with increasing government spending efficiency, posted yesterday on the X social media platform he owns.

Mr Musk then used the rest of his post to become the first participant in the public poll he was proposing. He endorsed Howard Lutnick, the chief executive of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald and co-chair of Mr Trump’s transition team ahead of Inauguration Day on 20 January, over hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.