NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Republican presidential

candidate Donald Trump said on Thursday he would establish a

government efficiency commission headed by billionaire supporter

Elon Musk if he wins the Nov. 5 election, during a wide-ranging

speech in which he laid out his economic vision for the country.

The former president has been discussing the idea of a

government efficiency commission with aides for weeks, people

with knowledge of those conversations have told Reuters. His

speech to the New York Economic Club on Thursday, however, was

the first time he had publicly endorsed the idea.

It was also the first time Trump said that Musk has agreed

to head the body. He did not detail precisely how such a

commission would operate, besides saying it would develop a plan

to eliminate "fraud and improper payments" within six months of

being formed.

"I will create a government efficiency commission tasked

with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of

the entire federal government and making recommendations for

drastic reforms," Trump said.

Musk said on an Aug. 19 podcast that he had held

conversations with the former president about the matter and

that he would be interested in serving on the body.

"I look forward to serving America if the opportunity

arises," Musk wrote on X on Thursday.

"No pay, no title, no recognition is needed."

Trump's proposal for the commission drew an immediate

rebuke from Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation

of Government Employees, a union which represents about 750,000

federal workers. He accused Trump and Musk of wanting to gut the

non-partisan civil service and replace fired workers with

allies.

"There's nothing efficient about that," Kelley wrote in

a statement to Reuters.

The U.S. government already has the nonpartisan

Government Accountability Office (GAO) a federal watchdog agency

tasked with investigating federal spending and performance.

During his speech, Trump reiterated his plan to cut the

U.S. corporate tax rate to 15% from 21%, but only for companies

that manufacture domestically. He also said he would open up

tracts of federal land to homebuilding in a bid to drive down

housing costs. These new housing zones would be "low tax" and

"low regulation," Trump said, without elaborating.

"We're going to open up our country to building homes

inexpensively, so young people and other people can buy homes,"

he said.

While Trump had already said he wanted to cut the tax

rate to 15%, he had not previously tied that lower rate to

keeping manufacturing inside the country.

Trump also called for creating a sovereign wealth fund,

in part to fund major infrastructure projects, including

highways, airports and manufacturing hubs.

During his speech, Trump pointed to a number of business

leaders in the audience, including JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon,

Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman and his own former

treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin.

Attendees at Thursday's event also included Cantor

Fitzgerald chief executive Howard Lutnick, who serves as

co-chair of Trump's transition team.

On the campaign trail, Trump has frequently blamed

Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, the vice president, for the

rise in prices of everyday goods during President Joe Biden's

term in office.

While headline inflation has slowed in the past two years,

many U.S. consumers are still unhappy with the higher prices

they have to pay for food, gas and other goods, according to

public opinion polls.

Trump is seen as a more competent steward of the economy by

most voters. But his advantage over Harris on the issue is

eroding, surveys show.