Elon Musk Clashes with Cabinet Over Government Job Cuts

Photo : AFP

In a tense meeting at the White House on Thursday, Elon Musk had a strong disagreement with top government officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The meeting, which also included President Donald Trump and about 20 other officials, showed that there were growing problems within the government over Musk’s aggressive cost-cutting plans.

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The meeting was quickly set up the night before and became heated when Musk told Rubio that he had not fired anyone to reduce the number of workers in his department. Musk said, “You have fired nobody,” and jokingly added that the only person who had been fired was from Musk’s own Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a department created to make government work better. Rubio, who was already annoyed with Musk’s influence, argued that Musk helped close the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is under his control. The argument got louder, and President Trump stepped in to defend Rubio. Trump said Rubio had a tough job with a lot to handle and asked everyone to work together to solve the issue.

Musk also argued with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy over cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Duffy did not agree with Musk’s idea to fire air traffic controllers, especially after recent plane crashes. Duffy said, “What am I supposed to do? I have multiple plane crashes to deal with now, and your people want me to fire air traffic controllers?” Musk disagreed, calling Duffy’s concerns “lies,” and asked for the names of the people who were supposed to be fired. Duffy responded that he had personally stopped those layoffs. Trump then suggested that air traffic controllers should be highly skilled and come from places like MIT, suggesting a focus on talent instead of just cutting jobs.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins also worried that Musk’s cuts could hurt the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which helps millions of veterans who are important to Trump’s supporters. Collins said that the government needed to be careful about job cuts and should only make cuts that would not harm important services. Trump agreed with Collins, saying that the government should keep the best workers while removing waste and inefficiency.

This disagreement marks a big moment in Trump’s second term, as it shows that Trump may start to limit Musk’s power. While Trump still supports Musk’s idea of cutting costs, some people in the government are starting to worry about Musk’s strong approach. Critics say that Musk’s methods are like using a “chainsaw” to cut instead of using a “scalpel,” meaning his approach is too harsh.

Some Republican lawmakers have also raised concerns to Trump about Musk’s growing influence and the way Musk can use his platform to criticize officials. In the meeting, Trump acknowledged these worries. He agreed to continue reducing government waste but said that, moving forward, cabinet secretaries would take the lead in decision-making, with Musk’s team only advising them.

After the meeting, officials made statements to try to calm things down. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the meeting was “great and productive,” and focused on making the government more efficient. The State Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs also said they were committed to improving efficiency but would ensure important services stayed intact. Musk also said the meeting was “very productive” in a post on his platform, X. Even though many cabinet members disagreed with him, Musk stayed confident, pointing to his success with big companies as proof that he could help improve the government.