President Donald Tumps recent declaration that he has ordered the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies has raised legal and constitutional questions. Lets rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if its a penny at a time, he said in a post onTruth Social, adding that pennies literally cost us more than 2 cents.While Trump has touted the move as a necessary cost-saving measure, his authority to unilaterally eliminate a form of U.S. currency is far from clear.Elon Musk, who is somehow infiltrating American policy now, has targeted the penny through his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to a post onX, DOGE claims the penny costs over 3 cents to make, with taxpayers shouldering a $179 million bill in 2023 alone.The U.S. Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies in fiscal year 2023, accounting for nearly 40% of the 11.4 billion coins minted for circulation.The role of Congress in currency decisionsThe power to regulate coinage and currency specifications is explicitly granted to Congress underArticle I, Section 8of the U.S. Constitution. Historically, decisions about the size, composition, and discontinuation of U.S. coins have required congressional approval. For example, the elimination of the half-cent coin in 1857 was enacted through legislation, not an executive order.TheCoinage Act of 1792, along with subsequent amendments, sets clear parameters for the issuance of currency, including the penny. The Act grants Congressnot the presidentthe power to establish and modify coinage. Any fundamental changes to the pennys production, including discontinuation, would likely require an act of Congress rather than a directive from the White House.Executive authority over the U.S. mintThe U.S. Mint operates under the Department of the Treasury, which falls within the executive branch. The president has the ability to direct executive agencies, but those directives must align with existing laws passed by Congress. While Trump may have the power to temporarily pause the production of pennies through administrative discretion, outright elimination of the coin would require legislative action.If Trump attempts to proceed without congressional approval, the move could be contested by lawmakers who view it as an overreach of executive power. Broader implications of discontinuing the pennyBeyond the legal debate, Trumps announcement raises larger questions about the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches. If a president can unilaterally end production of a coin, what other aspects of federal monetary policy could be subject to executive whims?While many economists have long argued that eliminating the penny makes sense from a financial perspective (given that its production cost exceeds its face value), the process for doing so has proven has proven elusive for decades. If Trump wishes to end penny production permanently, he will likely need to convince Congress to pass the necessary legislation.