President Trump on Wednesday offered a full-throated endorsement of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency as they slash government spending and fire workers while trying to brush off purported conflicts between the technology magnate and members of his Cabinet.
The drama unfolded at the first Cabinet meeting of Mr. Trump’s second term. Mr. Musk, who is not a member of Mr. Trump’s formal Cabinet, largely dominated the meeting while Senate-confirmed officials running large government agencies looked on.
Mr. Trump insisted that Cabinet secretaries support DOGE as it cancels contracts, fires workers, shutters departments and slashes spending. Mr. Musk encountered opposition from Cabinet members after an email was sent to 2.3 million federal workers at his behest asking them to document five things they accomplished last week. Workers were told they would be fired if they didn’t respond to the email.
Some agency officials reportedly told workers to ignore the email.
At the Cabinet meeting, the president downplayed reports that department heads had grown weary of Mr. Musk and DOGE but acknowledged their frustration.
“They have a lot of respect for Elon and that he’s doing this, and some disagree a little bit, but I will tell you, for the most part, I think everyone’s not only happy, they’re thrilled,” Mr. Trump said.
The president later urged his Cabinet secretaries to “speak up” if they were unhappy with Mr. Musk but joked that anybody who raised a complaint would be thrown out of the room.
The joke was met with some nervous laughter, but no one spoke up.
Mr. Trump defended Mr. Musk’s email and said he wanted another round of messages demanding that federal workers detail their feats.
“I think Elon wants to, and I think it’s a good idea because, you know, those people, as I’ve said before, they’re on the bubble,” he said.
Mr. Musk, the world’s richest person, said the email was not a personnel review “but a pulse review” to ensure fictional or dead employees weren’t collecting paychecks. He argued that anyone with a heartbeat and neurons could respond.
“There are fictional individuals collecting paychecks,” Mr. Musk said. “Are they alive, and can they write an email?”
He said the U.S. couldn’t continue to spend money at its current rate, or it would find itself in “de facto bankruptcy.” DOGE can help the president and agencies achieve savings, he added.
“That’s the reason I’m here and getting a lot of death threats, by the way,” Mr. Musk said. “I mean, I like to stack them up, you know?”
Mr. Musk acknowledged that DOGE had made some mistakes, such as canceling Ebola prevention efforts before reinstating them.
Mr. Trump said Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin revealed that he could cut up to 65% of his workforce.
Moments before the Cabinet meeting, the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget sent a memo directing federal agencies to prepare for large-scale layoffs. The memo requested that the agencies develop reorganization plans by March 13 to cope with the slimmed-down workforce.
“The federal government is costly, inefficient and deeply in debt,” the memo said. “At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public.
“Instead, tax dollars are being siphoned off to fund unproductive and unnecessary programs that benefit radical interest groups while hurting hardworking American citizens.”
The memo said agencies should “focus on maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated,” such as duplicate programs or unnecessary management layers and “noncritical positions.” It also called for closing or consolidating regional field offices.
This plan is part of the Trump administration’s push to restructure the government and cut waste.
Phase 1, which focuses on cuts and reductions, should be submitted by March 13, according to the memo.
Phase 2, which will focus on agency productivity, should be submitted by April 14 and implemented by late September.
The memo noted that any position that is necessary for law enforcement and public safety, border and national security, immigration enforcement, positions nominated and appointed by the president or Senate, and officials in the executive office of the president, along with the military and Postal Service, are exempt from review.
Social Security, Medicare and veteran services are also excluded.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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