White House Showdown: Trump’s Cabinet Clashes with Elon Musk Over Layoffs

[Social Media]

 

Elon Musk found himself at the center of a heated confrontation with members of Donald Trump’s cabinet during a high-stakes White House meeting, where he was directly accused of dishonesty. The dispute, which unfolded in the presence of the president, centered around layoffs at Doge, particularly cuts affecting air traffic controllers and Veterans Affairs hospitals.  

 

Sean Duffy, the secretary of the Department of Transport, led the charge against Musk, expressing outrage over the dismissal of air traffic controllers despite an ongoing national shortage. When Musk denied the allegations, Duffy presented a spreadsheet as evidence, sliding it across the desk in front of the president to contradict Musk’s claims. Reports suggest the transport secretary accused Musk of firing personnel who should have remained, which Musk rejected outright.  

 

The confrontation escalated further when Doug Collins, the secretary of Veterans Affairs, criticized Musk for disrupting operations at VA hospitals due to Doge’s cost-cutting measures. When Musk insisted that such disruptions were not a direct result of his company’s actions, Collins urged him to take a more strategic approach to reductions instead of making indiscriminate cuts. Trump reportedly sided with his cabinet members, allowing them to manage staffing decisions within their respective departments rather than relying on Musk’s direction.  

 

“Trump called the meeting and then he backed his cabinet guys. Collins and Duffy called him (Musk) a liar to his face, in front of the president,” a source revealed.  

 

Adding to the tension, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had been privately frustrated with Musk for weeks, also weighed in. Musk, seated diagonally from Rubio, accused him of failing to implement staff reductions, sarcastically claiming, “You have fired nobody.” He then insinuated that the only termination Rubio had overseen was a single Doge employee. In response, Rubio highlighted the more than 1,500 State Department officials who had taken early retirement buyouts. Despite the heated exchange, Musk attempted to defuse the situation with an offhand remark, telling Rubio he was “good on TV.”  

 

As tempers flared, Trump eventually stepped in, defending Rubio’s performance as secretary of state and praising his efforts. He later took to social media to reflect on the meeting, framing it as constructive despite the confrontations.  

 

“We just had a meeting with most of the secretaries, Elon, and others, and it was a very positive one. It’s very important that we cut levels down to where they should be, but it’s also important to keep the best and most productive people,” Trump wrote. He emphasized the importance of precision in staffing decisions, stating, “We say the ‘scalpel’ rather than the ‘hatchet.’”  

 

Tammy Bruce, a State Department spokesperson, echoed this sentiment, describing the meeting as an “open and productive discussion” focused on achieving the shared goal of making America great again. A Veterans Affairs spokesperson reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to increasing efficiency while ensuring that key personnel remain in place.  

 

Following the meeting, Duffy took to X to defend Doge’s role in helping agencies identify inefficiencies and modernize systems. “Doge is doing incredible work helping agencies identify inefficiencies as well as advising us as we work on the critical upgrades to our air traffic control system. 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,” he wrote.  

 

The Department of Transport and Elon Musk have yet to comment publicly on the confrontation, but the meeting highlighted growing tensions between Musk and key members of Trump’s administration over the future of government efficiency and workforce reductions.

 

Based on a report by The Telegraph  2025-03-10

 

 

[rudi49jr]

Let the infighting begin….

[spidermike007]

For a very intelligent man Musk is an absolute moron, who seems to know very little about people, nor does he seem to have any compassion. It is very likely he's the least charitable man in the history of mankind, based upon his wealth. Same applies to Trump. They have that in common. He seems to have no problem inflicting pain and joblessness upon well-intentioned folks. He richly deserves all the push back that he gets and Trump was erroneous to an extreme extent by giving him this position and granting this incredible fool even more power than he already has.

 

He has become a very obnoxious human being, and is despised throughout the planet. I never thought I'd actually sympathize with Marco Rubio but it's very easy to do that in this situation. 

 

 

[Hawaiian]

17 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

Let the infighting begin….

Early on I predicted that Trump would soon tire of Musk stealing the limelight.  Musk's attitude towards Trump's cabinet heads will only hasten the firing of Musk.

[JonnyF]

Storm in a teacup.

 

They're wishing they fall out. That doesn't mean they have.

[rudi49jr]

How can someone with credentials like this ever be allowed near any job with any responsibility:

 

https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2025-03-06-heres-your-government-slasher-on-drugs/

[Thingamabob]

Much ado about nothing. Musk going for maximum lay-offs, the cabinet holding him back where necessary. 

[rough diamond]

1 hour ago, Hawaiian said:

Musk's attitude towards Trump's cabinet heads will only hasten the firing of Musk.

And then watch the two little man boys throwing their toys out of their prams at each other.

Unfortunately some of those toys might be quite serious if either Trump or Musk renege on contracts etc.