WASHINGTON:
US President Donald Trump has denied reports of a heated argument between his senior adviser, billionaire Elon Musk, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a recent White House meeting. Despite claims of tensions over government cost-cutting measures, Trump insisted that no such dispute occurred.
According to *The New York Times*, Musk reportedly clashed with Rubio and separately with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy during a cabinet meeting chaired by Trump on Thursday. Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is spearheading an initiative to reduce costs and eliminate jobs across various government departments, a move that has reportedly caused friction with several agency leaders.
Following the meeting, Trump announced that cost-cutting efforts would continue but with a more precise approach, using a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet.” This statement suggested that the president had intervened to moderate Musk’s aggressive strategies.
However, when questioned by reporters on Friday about the alleged dispute, Trump dismissed the reports, stating, “No clash. I was there.” He praised both Musk and Rubio, saying, “They’re both doing a fantastic job… they both get along fantastically well.”
**Details of the Reported Clash**
The *Times* report detailed that Musk criticized Rubio’s cost-cutting efforts at the State Department, accusing him of having fired “nobody” within the administration’s first 45 days. Rubio reportedly responded by pointing out that 1,500 State Department officials had accepted early retirement and sarcastically asked whether he should rehire them just to fire them again in a more dramatic fashion.
In another exchange, Duffy reportedly accused DOGE of attempting to dismiss essential air traffic controllers while he was managing the fallout from several plane crashes. Musk allegedly dismissed Duffy’s claim as a “lie.” The president reportedly stepped in to defuse the situation, suggesting that future air traffic controllers be recruited from the “geniuses” at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
**Broader Context**
Since taking office, the Trump administration has implemented sweeping efficiency measures, resulting in the dismissal or announced departure of tens of thousands of federal employees. Musk’s DOGE, staffed largely by young professionals recruited from Silicon Valley, has been at the forefront of these efforts. However, several US media outlets have reported growing tensions between Musk and senior officials, who accuse his team of overstepping their authority.
The reported clashes highlight the challenges of balancing aggressive cost-cutting with the operational needs of government agencies, as well as the broader dynamics within the Trump administration. Despite the president’s dismissal of the reports, the alleged friction underscores the complexities of implementing large-scale reforms in the federal government.
