Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis applauds Trump for scrapping the penny

Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis praised President Trump on Monday for instructing the Treasury Department to halt production of pennies, which cost more than their value to mint.

“As well as saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, there are major environmental benefits to eliminating the penny. This is a great move,” Polis wrote on X. 

Polis, 49, argued in a separate post that producing copper-plated zinc pennies “leads to poorer air quality and large extractions of key minerals.”

“Let’s take this step to save taxpayer money, meet the needs of consumers, and better protect our environment,” he added. 

The Democratic governor has been pushing for the elimination of the penny since before Trump’s inauguration. 

In December, Polis tagged the president’s Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk in an X post highlighting the potential for annual savings in the nine-figure range if penny production is halted. 

“Eliminating the penny would save over $300,000,000 per year (every penny costs over three cents to make) and replacing the dollar bill with a dollar coin would save over a billion dollars a decade,” the governor claimed. 

The cost of manufacturing a penny was about 3.7 cents in fiscal year 2024, according to the US Mint, which noted that it lost $85.3 million on the more than 3 billion pennies it produced last year. 

The penny stamp out is the latest of Trump’s post-election moves that have won Polis’ support. 

Last November, Polis stunned many on the left when he tentatively endorsed Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

The Centennial State governor also ordered flags to be raised in honor of Trump’s inauguration, disregarding a half-staff order from former President Joe Biden in memory of late former President Jimmy Carter.

Polis has also signaled support for Trump’s plan to “secure the border, stop human trafficking, and stop the illegal flow of guns and drugs.” 

“We welcome more federal help to detain and deport dangerous criminals,” Polis said in his state of the state address last month. 

But Trump, 78, has slammed Polis over his handling of Venezuelan migrant gangs in Colorado, calling the governor “afraid” and “chickens–t” last October.