WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump says he has directed the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies, citing the cost of producing the one-cent coin.

“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote in a post Sunday night on his Truth Social site. “I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”

Trump's new administration has been sharply focused on cutting costs, targeting entire agencies and large swaths of the federal workforce for dismissal.

“Let's rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a time,” he wrote.

Trump sent the message after attending the first half of the Super Bowl in New Orleans.