In a dramatic and unprecedented confrontation at the heart of Washington, Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, and Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, clashed in the White House’s Cabinet Room.
Seated across from each other at the polished mahogany table, the two men exchanged sharp words over the administration’s radical cost-cutting measures, laying bare tensions that have been simmering within President Donald Trump’s team.
What began as a routine discussion on government efficiency, the New York Times reports, quickly escalated into a full-blown dispute. Musk accused Rubio of failing to make significant staff reductions within the State Department.
“You have fired nobody,” Musk reportedly declared, his voice cutting through the room. With a hint of disdain, he added that perhaps the only person Rubio had dismissed was a member of his Musk’s, own Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a controversial entity created to oversee federal restructuring efforts.
Rubio, visibly angered, retorted that Mr. Musk’s accusations were misleading. He pointed to the more than 1,500 State Department employees who had accepted early retirement buyouts. “Do they not count as layoffs?” he shot back sarcastically, before challenging Musk on whether he expected him to rehire them merely for the sake of firing them again.
President Trump, seated at the head of the table, reportedly leaned back with his arms crossed, watching the verbal sparring as if it were a high-stakes sporting event. While he did not immediately intervene, his body language suggested that he was weighing the arguments carefully.
Musk vs. The Cabinet
Musk’s confrontation with Rubio was not the only heated moment of the meeting. Just moments earlier, he had been locked in another dispute—this time with Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation. The issue at hand was the state of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and proposed job cuts.
Duffy expressed his frustrations, stating that Mr. Musk’s team was pushing for reductions in air traffic controllers. “What am I supposed to do?” he asked incredulously. “I have multiple plane crashes to deal with now, and your people want me to fire air traffic controllers?”
Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, jumped in to support Musk, arguing that the FAA’s outdated tracking systems were in dire need of overhaul. The discussion grew increasingly tense, with Musk insisting that the agency’s inefficiencies justified drastic measures, while Duffy held firm in his stance that such cuts would pose an unacceptable risk to public safety.
It was at this point that President Trump stepped in to mediate. “Sean has a lot to deal with,” he said, defending Duffy. “He’s very busy, he’s always traveling and on TV, and he has an agency to run. So everyone just needs to work together.”
The meeting marked a potential turning point in the administration’s approach to downsizing the federal government. While Trump has been a staunch advocate of Musk’s cost-cutting initiatives, Thursday’s session suggested that he was now willing to impose limits on the billionaire’s aggressive tactics.
In a post on social media after the meeting, Mr. Trump emphasised that future reductions in the federal workforce would be carried out with a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet”—a pointed remark that hinted at his desire to rein in Mr. Musk’s more drastic measures.
While Cabinet officials broadly support the concept of reducing waste and inefficiency in government, they have grown increasingly frustrated with the chaotic and heavy-handed implementation of Musk’s agenda. Thursday’s meeting, which was scheduled at short notice, appeared to be an acknowledgment by Trump that these concerns could no longer be ignored.
The Musk Factor
Musk’s influence over the administration cannot be overstated. Not only is he one of Trump’s most significant political donors, but his control over the social media platform X has made him a powerful force in shaping public discourse. Many Cabinet officials, wary of drawing Musk’s ire, have been reluctant to challenge him openly.
During the meeting, Musk dismissed concerns raised by Duffy, demanding proof of layoffs within the FAA. “Give me their names,” he said forcefully. “Tell me their names.”
Duffy, in turn, explained that the reason no names existed was because he had personally intervened to prevent the layoffs from happening. This back-and-forth underscored a broader concern among Cabinet members—that Musk’s decision-making lacked the nuance and coordination required for effective governance.
Among the most politically sensitive issues discussed at the meeting was the impact of budget cuts on veterans, a key constituency in Trump’s base. Doug Collins, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, warned against indiscriminate reductions in personnel, arguing that the agency needed to be strategic in its approach.
Trump appeared receptive to this argument. “We ought to retain the smart ones and get rid of the bad ones,” he said, signaling a willingness to adopt a more measured approach to restructuring the department.
The Aftermath
Following the meeting, administration officials scrambled to contain the fallout. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement calling the session a “great and productive meeting” that reflected the administration’s commitment to efficiency and reform. Meanwhile, a Department of Veterans Affairs spokesman reaffirmed the administration’s goal of “reducing bureaucracy while keeping the best and most productive federal employees.”
Duffy, in a social media post, expressed his continued support for the president’s vision while also acknowledging the need for greater coordination. “The DEI Department at the FAA was eliminated on day two,” he wrote, referencing a key target of Musk’s cost-cutting agenda. He also praised Trump’s shift toward a more surgical approach to government downsizing.
Musk, for his part, remained defiant. In a separate post, he described the meeting as “very productive” but made it clear that he had no intention of backing down. Reminding the Cabinet members of his business acumen, he emphasised that he had built multiple billion-dollar companies and knew how to hire—and fire—the right people.
It remains to be seen whether this new arrangement—where Cabinet secretaries retain control while Musk’s team acts in an advisory capacity—will hold. The divisions exposed during the meeting reflect a broader tension within the administration between those who favour a more cautious, calculated approach to reform and those who believe in a radical overhaul of government institutions.
For now, Trump appears to have chosen a middle ground, seeking to balance Musk’s disruptive energy with the experience and pragmatism of his Cabinet officials. But with Musk’s deep financial and political influence looming large, the question remains: Who truly holds the reins of power in Trump’s second-term administration?
