Bitcoin price today: gains to $120k, near record high on U.S. regulatory cheer
In a high-tension meeting at the White House, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO and the head of DOGE Elon Musk engaged in a heated exchange over staff reductions and government efficiency, the New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported Friday. The confrontation unfolded in the Cabinet Room, with President Trump and approximately 20 other individuals in attendance, witnessing the escalating dispute between two prominent figures.
The New York Times article follows reports from Reuters earlier today that Trump told his cabinet members that they, not Musk, have the final say on staffing and policy at their agencies.
In a description of the meeting, the Times said that Rubio, visibly upset, challenged Musk’s claims that he had not made sufficient cuts to his staff. Musk retorted that Rubio had not terminated anyone, mockingly suggesting the only dismissal might have been an employee from Musk’s own Department of Government Efficiency. The friction between the two had been brewing for some time, especially after Musk’s team effectively closed the United States Agency for International Development, an agency purportedly under Rubio’s jurisdiction.
In response to Musk’s allegations, Rubio pointed to the over 1,500 State Department officials who had accepted early retirement as part of buyouts, questioning whether those did not count as staff reductions. He sarcastically asked if Musk expected him to rehire them just for the spectacle of a public firing. Rubio then presented his comprehensive plans for restructuring the State Department, which failed to impress Musk. Musk’s dismissive remarks about Rubio being "good on TV" suggested he found Rubio’s abilities lacking elsewhere.
Throughout the argument, President Trump observed silently before eventually stepping in to support Rubio, stating that he was doing a "great job" and highlighting the secretary’s extensive responsibilities, including constant travel and managing an agency. Trump emphasized the need for collaboration among the team.
The contentious meeting marked a potential turning point early in Trump’s second term, signaling the president’s readiness to establish boundaries for Musk’s initiatives. Musk’s aggressive approach to cutting government waste and improving efficiency, while supported in theory by Cabinet officials, has led to several lawsuits and growing concerns among Republican lawmakers, some of whom have voiced their complaints directly to the president.