Elon Musk Clashes with US Officials Over Layoffs, Donald Trump Steps In

World's richest person Elon Musk criticised senior US officials over the failure of government downsizing efforts, which sparked a heated exchange, during a White House cabinet meeting, according to The New York Times. US President Donald Trump also attended the meeting with 20 other officials on Thursday.

During the meeting, Musk confronted Secretary of State Marco Rubio, accusing him of failing to slash his staff.

"You have fired nobody," Musk told Rubio, adding that the only person he fired was a staff member from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

As per the report, Rubio retaliated against Musk with full-force and called him untruthful.

"What about the more than 1,500 State Department officials who took early retirement in buyouts? Didn’t they count as layoffs?," Rubio questioned Musk, sarcastically adding if Musk wanted him to rehire all the staff to show off a layoff.

Reportedly, Rubio was frustrated with Musk for weeks after his team shut down the United States Agency for International Development, an agency under Rubio's jurisdiction.

Unimpressed by Rubio's plans on the State Department reorganisation, Musk even told that Rubio was “good on TV” with the clear subtext being that he was not good for much else.

As the argument escalated between both parties to an uncomfortable level, Trump intervened in Rubio's defence, appreciating him for doing a commendable job. He also asked both of them to cooperate.

Musk also aimed at Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, criticising the state of the Federal Aviation Administration’s tracking equipment and questioning the necessary fixes.

Duffy in return said that "the young staff" of Musk’s team was trying to lay off air traffic controllers

"What am I supposed to do? I have multiple plane crashes to deal with now, and your people want me to fire air traffic controllers?" he asked.

Elon Musk's Hands Tied?

Trump informed the cabinet authorities that they have full control over executive decisions like staffing and cost-cutting, according to Reuters. It was also noted that Musk and his DOGE will remain in an advisory role without enjoying any authority on “personnel, policy and the pacing of implementation” at government agencies.