A dispute between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and billionaire White House adviser Elon Musk erupted during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, according to The New York Times.
The confrontation, which unfolded while President Donald Trump observed the meeting, centered on the level of staff cuts carried out at the State Department.
The meeting was reportedly convened in response to complaints from agency heads and senior White House officials about the blunt-force approach employed by Musk’s operation to streamline the federal bureaucracy. Trump was said to have reminded Cabinet members that they, rather than Musk, have the final say on staffing and policy within their agencies.
According to the report, Musk accused Rubio of firing “nobody” and resisting his push for significant staff reductions. Rubio countered by noting that approximately 1,500 State Department employees had accepted early retirement buyouts. In a pointed remark, Rubio sarcastically questioned whether Musk wanted him to rehire all those employees only to fire them again.
The dispute comes amid ongoing debates over the best approach to reducing federal bureaucracy, with Musk assigned by Trump to implement large-scale staffing cuts. However, agency leaders and members of Congress have expressed concern over the potential impact of such measures, prompting the Cabinet meeting that led to the reported clash.
When asked about the incident on Friday, President Trump denied any clash. “No clash, I was there, you’re just a troublemaker,” he told a reporter. He added that both Rubio and Musk are doing a “fantastic job,” commending Rubio’s work as Secretary of State and praising Musk as “a unique guy.”
The incident highlights the growing tensions within the administration over how best to manage federal staffing and policy in the face of evolving political priorities.
A U.S. judge has directed Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to provide records and answer questions about their federal spending reduction efforts. The order stems from a lawsuit filed by 14 Democratic state attorneys general, alleging constitutional violations by Musk.
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Social media platform X faced outages affecting 12,000 users on Monday, following a cyberattack described by owner Elon Musk as a large, coordinated effort.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket experienced an explosive failure minutes after liftoff on Thursday, with debris raining over parts of the Caribbean and prompting temporary air traffic halts in parts of Florida.
President Donald Trump told his Cabinet that they—not Elon Musk—are in charge of their departments, following backlash over mass firings led by Musk’s agency, DOGE.
Germany's election-winning conservative CDU/CSU bloc, led by Friedrich Merz, and the Social Democrats (SPD) have reached an agreement in principle with the Greens on a significant increase in state borrowing ahead of next week’s parliamentary vote.
Frederic Arnault, one of the five children of LVMH, opens new tab chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, will become chief executive of the group's high-end Italian cashmere label Loro Piana in June, the world's biggest luxury group said in a statement.
The United States of America on Friday gave marching orders to the South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool declaring him ‘persona non grata’ - the latin phrase for “unwelcome person”.
XPeng Motors plans to mass-produce flying cars by 2026, becoming the first company globally to do so. CEO He Xiaopeng also highlighted advancements in autonomous driving and humanoid robotics as part of the company’s future tech initiatives.
World leaders welcomed the 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine has agreed to, calling it a step toward ending the conflict with Russia.
Regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan process, we cannot forget the years of occupation, and we will not forget them, President Ilham Aliyev said in his speech at the opening ceremony of the 12th Global Baku Forum.
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BioNTech forecasts a revenue decline for 2025, expecting between 1.7 billion and 2.2 billion euros, down from 2.75 billion euros last year. This drop is due to Pfizer write-downs and stable vaccination rates. BioNTech also plans significant job cuts and new hires.
The United States of America on Friday gave marching orders to the South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool declaring him ‘persona non grata’ - the latin phrase for “unwelcome person”.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host a virtual meeting with around 25 world leaders today as part of the Coalition of the Willing, reinforcing efforts to secure a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.
Germany's election-winning conservative CDU/CSU bloc, led by Friedrich Merz, and the Social Democrats (SPD) have reached an agreement in principle with the Greens on a significant increase in state borrowing ahead of next week’s parliamentary vote.
Frederic Arnault, one of the five children of LVMH, opens new tab chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, will become chief executive of the group's high-end Italian cashmere label Loro Piana in June, the world's biggest luxury group said in a statement.
The United States of America on Friday gave marching orders to the South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool declaring him ‘persona non grata’ - the latin phrase for “unwelcome person”.
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