Is Trump reining in Musk after cabinet showdown with ministers?

U.S. President Donald Trump convened a meeting with cabinet members on Thursday to discuss Elon Musk and his efforts to cut government spending and personnel. According to media reports, the atmosphere at the meeting was tense, signaling a potential shift in the President's stance. This meeting suggests the President may have decided to limit the power that Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla boss, and his "Department of Government Efficiency" (Doge) wielded in the early stages of the administration.

According to The New York Times, Musk accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio of failing to adequately reduce State Department personnel. The report stated that the tech mogul told Rubio he "performs well on television" but conspicuously did not commend his work as America's top diplomat. Additionally, Musk reportedly clashed with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy over whether Musk's Doge task force was trying to fire already short-staffed air traffic controllers at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Duffy's department has been under scrutiny following two U.S. airline crashes since Trump took office in January.

After listening to arguments from both sides, Republican President Trump reportedly stepped in to make it clear that he still supports Doge, but that cabinet members would be in charge going forward, with Musk's team only providing advice. A State Department spokesperson told The New York Times that Rubio considered the cabinet meeting an "open and productive discussion." The White House has not responded to a request for further comment from the BBC. Trump commented on the content of Thursday's meeting, which was only revealed in media reports afterward, for the first time in a post on Truth Social, saying he had instructed his ministers to work with Doge to "cut costs."

“As the ministers learn and understand the people working for the various departments, they can determine with great precision who will stay and who will leave,” Trump wrote. He also added that they should use a "scalpel" instead of a "hatchet." Weeks earlier, Musk waved a shiny chainsaw at a conservative conference, symbolizing his aggressive attempts to cut government spending, which angered Democrats and caused concern among some officials in the Trump administration. Musk's team had sent multiple emails from an official government account to millions of federal workers, encouraging them to accept months of prepaid wages in exchange for resigning.

Federal workers were instructed to provide reports of weekly work output or face termination, and some agencies instructed their employees to ignore the request. Doge also ordered the firing of many newly hired government employees due to their "probationary" status, which did not grant them full civil service protections. Some government agencies have rescinded these orders because some employees deemed essential, such as those overseeing nuclear weapons safety, were affected. Trump responded to reports of the cabinet meeting and heated exchanges at an event in the Oval Office on Friday. He insisted there was "no conflict" and praised both Rubio and Musk, saying the two "get along well."

However, Trump's Thursday post on Truth Social appeared to give department heads greater power to push back against Musk. It may also be an attempt to insulate the Trump administration from lawsuits claiming Musk wields too much power, as he is not subject to Senate scrutiny and confirmation like cabinet members. Several federal judges overseeing these cases have expressed concern about Musk's power, and Trump's remarks during a speech before Congress on Tuesday that the billionaire is effectively in charge of Doge could further exacerbate these concerns.

So far, Musk and Trump have formed a powerful partnership—as the world's richest man and America's most powerful politician. For months, Washington has been rife with speculation about whether this partnership will eventually break down. However, these predictions are often accompanied by renewed signs of harmony between the two. On Friday night, Musk was seen boarding Air Force One with the President, flying to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida for the weekend. The squabbling in the cabinet room may be the first crack in the foundation, but there is ample evidence that Trump still supports Musk's broader efforts and goals, even if he might prefer him to use a scalpel rather than a chainsaw in the days to come.