Musk, tariffs and tensions - takeaways from Trump's first cabinet meeting - Voice of Asia

President Donald Trump held his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday at the White House, turning it into a question-and-answer session that lasted for over an hour. Accompanied by cabinet members and billionaire Elon Musk, sporting a "Tech Support" T-shirt, President Trump discussed a wide range of topics, from the Government Efficiency Office's (Doge) efforts to cut government spending to immigration, the economy, and the war in Ukraine.

During the meeting, a reporter asked President Trump which government departments and cabinet members were most resistant to his policy changes. President Trump stated, "So far, I'm happy with all the selections." However, he added, "Some departments are easier to work with than others," specifically praising the work of Elon Musk (who is not a cabinet member) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Trump administration is focused on "cutting the size of government, and we have to do it." He added, "We want to get to a balanced budget in a relatively short period of time... maybe next year, or the year after."

President Trump openly and repeatedly endorsed the work of Elon Musk and the Government Efficiency Office (Doge), which is tasked with cutting government spending and the federal workforce. The president sought to dispel any speculation about tensions between Musk and the rest of his team. President Trump stated, "They have great respect for what Elon is doing, and some may have slightly different opinions, but I think most are not only happy but very excited. If they're not happy, I want them to say so." At one point, President Trump was asked if any cabinet members had expressed dissatisfaction with Musk, and he turned to the room to ask them, but no one spoke.

Musk also defended the Government Efficiency Office (Doge), calling it a "support function" for government agencies to eliminate fraud. However, he admitted that the office makes mistakes, noting that it had accidentally canceled Ebola prevention efforts before reinstating them. Musk stated, "But when we make mistakes, we correct them quickly." President Trump also mentioned an email Musk sent to federal employees, requiring them to list five things they had done in the past week or face the risk of unemployment, saying the cabinet was "very supportive" of the initiative. President Trump speculated, without evidence, that some of the approximately one million federal employees who did not respond to the email might "not exist." He also stated, "We're trying to find out who those people are who didn't respond. We're taking a more targeted approach to people who are handling classified matters." President Trump also said he encouraged cabinet members to "do their own Government Efficiency Office (Doge)" within their respective agencies. He also hinted that the Environmental Protection Agency, led by Lee Zeldin, could lose up to 65% of its staff.

President Trump confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would visit the White House on Friday, following earlier hints. President Trump stated that the visit would see the United States and Ukraine sign a broad-ranging minerals agreement, although the specific details of the agreement remain unclear. He stated that the agreement would allow the United States to "recoup" aid money provided to Ukraine since the Russian invasion three years ago. "We're going to be getting a lot of money in the future, which I think is appropriate because we have taxpayers that shouldn't be carrying the expense. It's all worked out." Zelenskyy has described the bilateral agreement as a preliminary agreement and said he hopes to reach further agreements, including security guarantees from the United States to deter future Russian aggression. When asked about future security guarantees for Ukraine, President Trump stated that the United States would not provide any guarantees, arguing that the burden should be borne by Europe.

President Trump stated that he plans to impose a 25% tariff on goods manufactured in the European Union. He told the assembled reporters, "We're going to be announcing something very soon. Generally, it would be 25%, and it would apply to cars and everything else." President Trump stated that the EU "really takes advantage of us. They don't take our cars. They basically don't take our agricultural products. They reject them for various reasons." President Trump was also asked whether he still planned to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, despite a sharp drop in illegal immigration detentions at the southern border and Canada's plans to strengthen border protection. On February 4, President Trump abruptly agreed to suspend the 25% tariffs on both countries for 30 days, saving the three countries from a potentially devastating trade war. The date President Trump cited appeared to be an extension of that timeframe. "April 2, the tariffs go on," he said. "Not all of them, but a lot of them. I think it will be amazing."