President Trump is signaling a softer approach to the mass firings of federal government workers led by Elon Musk as cracks emerge between the tech billionaire and Cabinet secretaries running the agencies he’s gutting.
Musk’s swift and wide-ranging cost-cutting efforts have been met with pushback from some in Washington, who have complained behind-the-scenes about the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) upending of norms.
Trump’s shift in tone emerged this week when he stressed that his Cabinet secretaries take the lead on staffing choices, insisting that cuts be made with a “scalpel” instead of a “hatchet.”
That came after a contentious meeting Thursday attended by Trump, Cabinet secretaries and Musk at the White House, which was followed by an explosive report in the New York Times about clashes between Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump blew off a question about friction between Musk and Rubio when a reporter asked him to weigh in from the Oval Office after the Times report published.
But his response earlier this week stressing that his Cabinet secretaries take the lead in making what he deems appropriate cuts to federal agencies signals some potential pushback from his secretaries as to how Musk has been handling things.
Still, the president left the door open for Musk to take the reins back, telling his Cabinet that if they didn’t make the right cuts, then the Tesla CEO would.
“At some level, Musk has been a little bit callous in the presentation. And then when you talk about veterans across the country, disabled vets, people like that, losing their jobs, at some point that stuff starts to take hold,” a source close to Trump world said.
“You got to execute with a little more precision and more with a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer. Now Trump may not care, right? Because they think they can win the larger victory just by doing it. It comes down to the personality base… and the personal stories,” the source said.
A former Trump official suggested the president’s shift in tone was an acknowledgment of the political and legal scrutiny toward DOGE that has ramped up in recent weeks. The official noted that Thursday’s Cabinet meeting took place behind closed doors, where it could be more candid than the on-camera gathering last week that was dominated by Musk.
In a clear sign of tension, Musk called out Rubio in the second meeting for not firing enough people from his department The New York Times reported.
Rubio has reportedly been furious with Musk for weeks since his team closed down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and during the spat, Musk suggested Rubio was only good for television before Trump stepped in to commend his secretary of state’s work and suggest everyone work together.
When Trump was asked about the reported clash, he said, “no clash, I was there.”
“Elon gets along great with Marco and they’re both doing a fantastic job,” he said, later adding, “Marco has done unbelievably as Secretary of State. And Elon is a unique guy and has done a fantastic job.”
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins also reportedly said in that meeting that cuts have to be more strategic, with Trump agreeing with him. Collins, in an op-ed in The Hill, stressed the importance of supporting veterans and said his agency “is conducting a department-wide review of its organization, operations and structure” in response to the DOGE workforce initiative from Trump.
Musk wore a suit during the meeting, a subtle but noticeable change from the “Tech Support” T-shirt and black MAGA hat he wore during a previous Cabinet meeting.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt called it a “great and productive meeting,” but did not directly address the reported disagreements.
“Everyone is working as one team to help President Trump deliver on his promise to make our government more efficient,” Leavitt said in a statement.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Friday expressed his support for Musk directly, as well as Trump’s “approach” to working with him.
“The President’s approach of a scalpel versus a hatchet and better coordination between Secretaries and DOGE is the right approach to revolutionizing the way our government is run. @USDOT will continue to work closely with @elonmusk,” Duffy said on X.
Aside from the heat emanating from the Cabinet, the administration’s work to cut waste from the government has faced its biggest roadblocks through the courts.
A coalition of unions representing federal employees sued last month over efforts to conduct mass layoffs across the government. A federal judge this week ordered the administration to release payments to contractors and nonprofits connected to USAID, which has been hardest hit by Musk’s efforts to slash spending.
On Capitol Hill, Republican senators told Musk this week that his aggressive moves to shrink the federal government will need a vote by Congress, with lawmakers seemingly irked at being bypassed.
Republican senators have taken particular issue with thousands of firings planned at the Department of Veterans Affairs and layoffs of federal employees that have affected veterans in particular.
“There’s a real separation between, USAID is funding a transgender puppet show in Kuwait versus we’re giving life saving medicine in Sub Saharan Africa or we’re helping children who are getting literally pouches of peanut butter not starve to death. I think even the most cynical Americans think that, okay, we have some role in that,” the source close to Trump world said.
Trump’s comments also bring his public rhetoric more in line with the White House’s assertion in court filings that Musk is not the administrator of DOGE and does not have the authority to make policy decisions on his own.
And, they build on an executive order Trump signed last week, directing agency leaders to work with DOGE staff and look at contracts, employee travel and other areas, as well as build a centralized system to record every payment.
Despite the shifts in guidance around handling Musk, Democrats, unions and activists are expected to keep up their pushback on the billionaire’s work for Trump, including the host of Democratic attorneys generals who are plaintiffs in several lawsuits against the administration.
Senate Democrats this week asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether Musk is leveraging his government position to pressure advertisers into spending more on his social media platform, X.
Critics say though that putting Cabinet secretaries in charge over Musk doesn’t mean the legal issues will stop.
“Unfortunately, closing the barn door after the horse has bolted does no good,” said Norm Eisen, executive chair of State Democracy Defenders Fund, which has represented plaintiffs in a complaint that Musk’s actions are in violation of the Constitution because he is not Senate-confirmed.
“In fact, this attempted backtrack is an admission that the vast chaos that Musk and DOGE have wrought without proper approval and documentation is illegal— and so must be completely unwound.”
