US President Donald Trump called a meeting of his cabinet secretaries on Thursday to discuss Elon Musk and his efforts to reduce government spending and personnel numbers.
He turned hot, according to media reports.
Musk accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio of failing to cut enough staff in the State Department, reports the New York Times.
Technology Mogul told Rubio that he was “good on TV”, according to the newspaper, apparently bypassing any praise of his work as America’s best diplomat.
The billionaire also clashed with the Sean Duffy Transport Secretary of whether the Task Force of the Government Department (DOGE) of Musit had tried to rest the air traffic controllers who were already in short supply to the federal aviation administration, according to the New York Times.
Duffy’s department has been under control after two US airline clashes since Trump took office in January.
After hearing back and on, the Republican president reportedly intervened to make it clear that he still supported Doge, but from now on the cabinet secretaries would be responsible and Musk’s team would only advise.
A State Department spokeswoman told Rubio newspaper felt that the cabinet meeting was an “open and productive discussion”. The White House has not responded to BBC requests for further comments.
The scheduled meeting can provide evidence that the President has decided to limit the comprehensive Spacex and Tesla Boss and his DOGE cost initiative have commanded in the early weeks of his administration.
Trump commented for the first time on Thursday’s meeting substance, which was revealed only in the media reports after the fact, through a post that evening on his social media site, Truth Social.
He said he had instructed his secretaries to work with DOGE in “Measures to reduce costs”.
“While secretaries learn and understand, people working for different departments, they can be very accurate who will remain, and who will go,” he wrote, adding that they should use a “scalpel” not a “hat”.
DuddyJust a few weeks ago, Musk had a shiny saw at a conservative conference – a noticeable symbol of aggressive efforts to reduce government spending that have angered Democrats and deal with some officials in the Trump administration.
Musk’s team had sent numerous email from an official government account to millions of federal workers, encouraging them to accept months of preliminary salary in exchange for their resignations.
Federal workers were instructed to provide account of their weekly achievements or to risk fire – a request that some agencies instructed their employees to ignore.
The Doge also ordered the dismissal of many newly employed government employees, who, due to their “probative” status, had no full protection of the civil service.
Some government agencies have renounced these orders because employees considered essential, such as those who oversee the security of nuclear weapons, were affected.
During an Oval Office event on Friday, Trump answered questions about cabinet collection – and reports on its glowing exchanges. He insisted there was no “no collision”. He praised both rubio and musk and said the two were accompanied “excellent”.
However, the social post of Trump’s Thursday’s truth seems to give the leaders of the departments more authority to push against Musk.
It can also be an attempt to isolate the Trump administration from lawsuits claiming that Musk is holding a lot of power for someone who, unlike cabinet secretaries, is not subject to the Senate’s review and confirmation.
Some federal judges who oversee these cases have already expressed concern about Musk’s authority – concerns that could be further fueled by Trump’s comments during his congress address on Tuesday that the billionaire was, in fact, the man responsible for Dog.
Musk and Trump have formed a frightening partnership so far – as the richest man in the world and the most powerful politician in America. Washington has increased by speculation for months if that partnership can ultimately be.
However, these forecasts are usually followed by renewed signs of the Committee between the two men.
On Friday evening, Musk was seen in the dormitory Air Force One with the president for a flight to the Trump Mar-A-Lago home in Florida for the weekend.
The cabinet room can be the first stroke in the foundation-but there is a lot of evidence that Trump still supports the wider efforts and intentions of musk, even if he may prefer to use a scalp in the coming days, not a saw with a saw.
