The inside story of the meeting where Trump's cabinet and Musk had a fierce conflict

In the Cabinet Room, officials’ simmering resentment over the billionaire’s unchecked power boiled over. Trump moved quickly to rein in Musk.

Cabinet officials generally agree with Musk’s reform ideas—reducing government waste, fraud and abuse—but are frustrated by his sweeping and uncoordinated approach to upending government structures.

Marco Rubio was seething. As secretary of state, he sat in the Cabinet Room next to the president, listening to a barrage of attacks from the world’s richest man.

Across the oval mahogany conference table, Elon Musk was blasting Rubio, accusing him of failing to make significant cuts.

“You didn’t fire anybody,” Musk told Rubio, before adding dismissively that perhaps the only person he fired was a staffer in Musk’s Department of Government Effectiveness.

The secretary of state had been privately upset with Musk for weeks, ever since his team effectively shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, which was supposed to fall under Rubio’s purview. But in an extraordinary cabinet meeting Thursday attended by President Trump and about 20 people, details of which have never been disclosed, Rubio finally aired his grievances publicly.

Rubio said Musk’s claims were untrue. Were the more than 1,500 officials who left the State Department through an early retirement program considered layoffs? He sarcastically asked whether they should be rehired just so Musk could watch him fire them again. He then detailed his plans to restructure the State Department.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been privately unhappy with Musk for weeks. Photograph: Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Musk was unmoved. He described Rubio as "good at showmanship," implying that there was nothing else to it. Throughout the process, the president leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, as if watching a tennis match.

After the awkward dispute lasted for a long time, Trump finally came to Rubio's defense, saying that he was doing a "very good job." The president said Rubio was busy, traveling, on TV and running a department, and everyone had to work together.

The meeting marked a possible turning point in the chaotic early weeks of Trump's second term. It was the first time Trump had made clear he was willing to set limits on Musk, whose reforms have sparked multiple lawsuits and concerns from Republican lawmakers, some of whom have complained directly to the president.

Cabinet officials were almost unanimous in their agreement with Musk's goal of reducing government waste, but were frustrated by his "chainsaw" approach and lack of coordination.

Thursday's meeting, which was called unexpectedly late Wednesday, showed that Trump had taken note of the escalating complaints. He tried to strike a balance, praising Musk and rewarding Cabinet ministers (at least one, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant, who has a strained relationship with Musk's team, was not present). The president made it clear that he still supports Musk's mission of reform, but stressed that a change of strategy is needed now.

From now on, department heads will lead the work, and Musk's team will only provide advice.

It is not yet clear what the long-term impact of the meeting will be. Musk remains Trump's largest political donor - just this week, his super PAC ran a million-dollar ad saying "Thank you, President Trump." And his control of the social media platform X has made government officials and cabinet ministers worry that they will become the target of his public attacks.

This cabinet meeting is the first time that Trump is willing to set limits on Musk. Photograph: Eric Lee/The New York Times

But at the very least, the meeting exposed tensions within Trump's team. After the meeting, news of the intense conflict quickly spread among the top cabinet agencies. This article is based on interviews with five people familiar with the matter.

After the meeting, Trump said on social media that the next phase of the federal government's layoff plan would use a "scalpel" rather than an "axe" - an obvious reference to Musk's radical methods.

Musk attended the meeting in a suit and tie, which was unusual (Trump had previously publicly ridiculed him for his casual dress). He defended himself by saying that he had a proven track record of managing three companies with a market value of tens of billions of dollars at the same time.

But he soon had disputes with several cabinet members.

Shortly before the clash with Rubio, Musk clashed with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy over the status of the Federal Aviation Administration's aircraft tracking equipment and how to improve it. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stood up for Musk.

Duffy said that young members of Musk's team tried to fire air traffic controllers. "What should I do?" Duffy said, "There are multiple crashes to deal with now, and your people want me to fire controllers?"

In Arlington, Virginia, a crane is salvaging the wreckage of an American Airlines passenger plane that crashed in January. Photograph: Al Drago/The New York Times

Musk called Duffy's statement a "lie." Duffy insisted that the news came from the other team. Musk asked the other party to provide the names of those who were fired, "Tell me their names."

Duffy said there were no specific names because he prevented layoffs in time. Musk also claimed that there were employees hired through diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the control tower. Duffy refuted this. Musk did not provide details, but said in the dispute that Duffy had his phone number and could contact him directly if he had any questions.

The dispute ended with Trump asking Duffy to hire MIT graduates as controllers. The president said these controllers must be "geniuses."

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins faces one of the most sensitive political challenges in the cabinet. Musk's layoffs will affect thousands of veterans, a powerful voter group and a core supporter of Trump. Collins pointed out that the VA staff cannot be cut in a "one-size-fits-all" manner and must be strategic. Trump agreed, saying that good employees should be retained and unqualified ones should be eliminated.

White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt said in response to a request for comment from The New York Times: "As President Trump said, this was an excellent and productive meeting where the team discussed cost reduction and federal government staffing. Everyone is working together to help the president deliver on his promise to make government more efficient."

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said: "Secretary Rubio believes this was a candid and productive discussion with a dynamic team working together under the common goal of 'Making America Great Again.'"

A spokeswoman for the Department of Veterans Affairs said: "As President Trump said, it is critical to increase efficiency and reduce bureaucracy while maintaining a productive federal workforce. The Department of Veterans Affairs is working with the Department of Government Efficiency and other agencies to advance this effort."

leaf="">Transportation Secretary Duffy praised the work of Trump and Musk's team on the X platform on Friday, calling it a productive cabinet meeting. He added that "the DEI department of the FAA was eliminated the next day" and that Trump's "strategy of using a scalpel instead of an axe, and strengthening the coordination of the minister with the Department of Government Efficiency, is the right path to innovate the way government works."

Musk later claimed on the X platform that the meeting was "very productive," but according to people present, his attitude in the meeting room was far from that positive. He defended himself strongly, reminding the cabinet ministers that he had built several multi-billion dollar companies from scratch and knew how to hire people.

Photo: Members of labor groups protest Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. Photo: Valerie Plesch/The New York Times

Most cabinet members did not get involved in the dispute. Musk's fierce accusations against Rubio were particularly surprising to those present, according to a person familiar with the matter. Another person said that Musk's sharp response to Duffy and Rubio caused many cabinet members who privately complained about their team to choose to remain silent.

But how long this new power structure can last remains to be seen.

About the Author: Jonathan Swan is a White House reporter covering the administration of Donald J. Trump. Maggie Haberman is a White House reporter covering Donald J. Trump's non-consecutive second term. This article appeared in the March 8, 2025 print edition of The New York Times with the headline:  Anger at Musk Erupts In Cabinet Room Clash With Key Trump Aides.