By The Epoch Times | Created at 2025-03-09 02:49:59 | Updated at 2025-03-09 15:34:52
12 hours ago
The comments were directed at New York Times reporting on a purported heated Musk–Rubio dispute.
President Donald Trump on Saturday denied reports that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed during a recent Cabinet meeting, calling the claims “fake news” and insisting the two have a “great relationship.”
The New York Times had reported that Musk and Rubio engaged in a heated exchange during a Cabinet meeting on Feb. 26 over workforce reductions at the State Department. The dispute allegedly stemmed from Rubio’s reluctance to fire employees despite advice to do so from Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk oversees in his role as a special government employee.
According to the report, Rubio pushed back, pointing out that 1,500 State Department employees had already accepted early buyouts, which should count as workforce reductions. He then asked Musk whether he should rehire those employees just to fire them again, mocking DOGE’s missteps in rehiring workers it had initially let go, per the contested report.
The argument reportedly continued until Trump intervened, urging cooperation. The meeting had been convened following complaints from agency heads and White House officials about DOGE’s aggressive approach to downsizing.
On Friday, Trump dismissed the New York Times report when questioned by reporters in the Oval Office.
“No clash. I was there, you’re just a troublemaker,” he told a journalist who asked about the alleged dispute. “Elon gets along great with Marco, and they’re both doing a fantastic job.”
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Trump also praised Rubio’s performance as Secretary of State, while describing Musk as a “unique guy” doing a “fantastic job.”
Amid growing speculation about tensions between Musk and Rubio, Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday to further quash the rumors.
“Elon and Marco have a great relationship. Any statement other than that is fake news!!!” Trump wrote in all caps.
The controversy comes amid weeks of turmoil in Washington, where tens of thousands of federal employees have been abruptly dismissed as part of Trump’s sweeping effort to overhaul the federal workforce. Critics have called the mass terminations reckless, with some firings facing legal challenges.
Trump, who has long said that the federal workforce is bloated, issued an executive order on Feb. 11 directing a “critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy” to maximize efficiency and productivity. His administration has also sought to enforce stricter workplace attendance, eliminate remote work privileges, and crack down on government employees with outside jobs.
While there is no official count of the total dismissals, multiple reports estimate that at least 20,000 employees have been fired, while another 75,000 have accepted deferred resignations—bringing the total number of affected workers to nearly 100,000.
Amid mounting concerns that the terminations have been too broad, Trump recently directed his administration to take a more targeted approach, ensuring that capable and productive employees are retained.
“Now that we have my Cabinet in place, I have instructed the Secretaries and Leadership to work with DOGE on Cost Cutting measures and Staffing,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“As the Secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go. We say the ‘scalpel’ rather than the ‘hatchet.’”
Despite these adjustments, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to trimming excess in the bureaucracy, telling reporters after the meeting that the 2.3 million-strong federal workforce remains “out of control.”
He urged his Cabinet members to take the lead on downsizing, but added that Musk and DOGE would step in if necessary.
“If they can cut, it’s better,“ Trump said. ”And if they don’t cut, then Elon will do the cutting.”
