Elon Musk and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio engaged in a heated conversation in the presence of US President Donald in a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
The temperature in the Cabinet Room of the White House went up as US President Donald Trump watched a verbal spat between Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Musk claimed that Rubio was not firing enough staff, while the Secretary of State laid out elaborate plans of reorganising the State Department.
Rubio and Musk engage in heated exchange
Rubio, who appeared to have apprehensions regarding Musk for closing down of the United States Agency for International Development, did not hold back from expressing his grievances in the Cabinet meeting.
He underscored that the billionaire advisor was not being considerate of the 1,500 State Department officials who took early retirement in buyouts. He sarcastically asked whether those officials are to be hired again so that they could be fired.
Trump intervenes
At last, Trump had to intervene as he praised Rubio for a “good job” while commending how he managed travel, television appearances, and an agency.
Elon Musk also sounded critical of transportation secretary Sean Duffy, who claimed that DOGE is attempting to lay off air traffic controllers at a time when plane crashes are frequently reported in the US.
The meeting saw Trump deciding that while secretaries would take charge of affairs in the country, the DOGE team’s role would be confined to providing advice. This comes as the first instance when the US President is trying to curb Musk’s unfettered ride in the state of affairs.
Here’s what Trump said
However, Trump ruled out any clash between Musk and Rubio as he underscored that both of them are working to make the system better and empowered. “No clash, I was there, you’re just a troublemaker,” he told a reporter.
“Elon gets along great with Marco and they’re both doing a fantastic job,” Trump said. “Marco has done unbelievably as Secretary of State. And Elon is a unique guy and has done a fantastic job,” he added.
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