07.03.2025 23:21
The New York Times reported that U.S. President Donald Trump's senior advisor Elon Musk had separate discussions with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy during a cabinet meeting. Both discussions ended with Trump's intervention.
Sources speaking to the New York Times (NYT), based in the USA, indicated that cracks have emerged in President Donald Trump's cabinet.
ELON MUSK ARGUED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO DURING THE CABINET MEETING According to sources, Trump's senior advisor Elon Musk accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio of not reducing the staff count by saying, "You haven't fired anyone" during the cabinet meeting. Rubio responded by stating that Musk was not being honest and, with a 'sarcastic tone', asked whether the '1500 people' who had taken early retirement from the State Department were counted as layoffs and whether Musk wanted to rehire those individuals to perform another 'layoff show'.
TRUMP INTERVENED TO DEFEND RUBIO After the discussion between the two became 'uncomfortably' prolonged, Trump intervened, defending Rubio, whom he said was doing a 'great job'. Trump stated that Rubio had a lot to deal with and was constantly traveling, thus everyone needed to work together.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio THERE ARE THOSE UNHAPPY WITH MUSK'S "CHAINSAW" APPROACH While cabinet officials expressed their appreciation for Musk's efforts to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse, they also expressed disappointment with his "chainsaw" approach. The meeting yesterday was seen as a sign that Trump was taking the increasing complaints about Musk into account. During the meeting, Trump stated that he supported the mission of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) but that it was time for a more refined approach. Trump also indicated that his secretaries would now have authority, while Musk's team would only provide recommendations. In a social media post after the meeting, Trump mentioned that in the next phase of his plan to reduce the federal workforce, they would proceed with a "scalpel" instead of an "axe," which was interpreted as a reference to Musk's approach on the matter.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy MUSK ALSO ARGUED WITH SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION SEAN DUFFY There was also a dispute between Musk and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy during the cabinet meeting. Duffy stated that DOGE was trying to lay off air traffic controllers under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), saying, "I currently have a lot of airplane accidents to deal with, and your people are asking me to lay off air traffic controllers." Musk, denying Duffy's claim, asked him to provide the names of those who were fired from the department. Duffy replied that there were no names because he had prevented the layoffs himself.
TRUMP INTERVENED ONCE AGAIN In this dispute, Trump also intervened, stating that these officials needed to be "included" and advised Duffy to hire people from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as air traffic controllers. A person familiar with the meeting said that Musk's anger, particularly towards Rubio, surprised those in the room. Another person noted that Musk's reactions towards Duffy and Rubio seemed to deter many other cabinet members, who had specifically complained about DOGE, from speaking up.