At a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, US President Donald Trump set the record straight that his ministers are in charge of their departments and not his so-called ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk. Two administration officials who were present during the meeting told Politico that Trump made it clear to the top members of his Cabinet that Musk is only empowered to make recommendations to respective departments.
Trump maintained that his billionaire friend is not supposed to issue unilateral decisions on staffing and other policies. Interestingly, the POTUS made all these proclamations while Musk was in the room. The meeting came days after a series of mass firings and threats to government workers were passed on by the Tesla CEO at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
These frequent warnings from DOGE have created broad uncertainty across the federal government and its workforce. In recent days, the temporary department’s actions have faced ferocious resistance in court and are often criticised by both Democratic and some Republican lawmakers.
Is Trump tightening the leash on Musk?
The president’s remarks at the Cabinet meeting are now seen as the first significant move to narrow Musk and his department’s overarching mandate. In his new guidance, the president made it clear that DOGE and its staff should play an advisory role — but Cabinet secretaries should make final decisions on personnel, policy and the pacing of implementation.
Following the president’s remarks, Musk made it clear that he was on board to lead the department only under Trump’s directive. One person familiar with the meeting told Politico that Musk acknowledged that DOGE had made some missteps — a message he shared earlier this week with members of Congress. Meanwhile, Trump stressed that he wants to keep good people in his administration and has no intention to eject capable federal workers.
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