Musk confronts Rubio in front of Trump during Cabinet meeting – NYT
Photo: American billionaire Elon Musk (Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio got into a heated exchange with billionaire Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, during a Cabinet meeting, The New York Times reports.
The argument erupted when Musk accused Rubio of failing to cut staff, criticizing him directly in front of President Donald Trump.
"You have fired nobody," he said.
Musk added that perhaps the only person Rubio fired was an employee from Musk’s own department.
According to NYT, the US Secretary of State was furious with Musk for several weeks after his team closed the US Agency for International Development, which was supposedly under Rubio's control. At a cabinet meeting with Trump and other officials, he nevertheless voiced his complaints.
Rubio dismissed Musk’s claims, pointing out that over 1,500 State Department employees had taken early retirement under compensation packages, which he said counted as staff reductions. He then asked if Musk wanted to rehire them just to fire them again. He then presented his detailed plans for reorganizing the State Department.
As the argument dragged on, Trump intervened to back Rubio, stating that he was doing "a great job" and was constantly busy with travel, television appearances, and leading an entire agency.
Earlier today, Politico reported that Trump had limited Musk’s authority following mass layoffs.
Musk's role in job cuts in the US
President Trump and Elon Musk have been working together in recent weeks to reduce government spending in the administration.
Musk’s role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency has been criticized from the very beginning, particularly due to proposals involving buyouts of federal workers and mass layoffs, the dissolution of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and attempts to access sensitive payment systems.
As we previously reported, Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency led efforts to dismantle USAID, the primary mechanism for US foreign aid and a critical tool for US soft power abroad.
In addition, the Department cut the US Department of Education's budget by over $900 million.
The Pentagon also announced the reduction of 5,400 jobs as part of these initiatives.
Last month, Musk’s Department claimed to have saved $55 billion for the US, but media analysis suggested that this figure was inflated.
