The president instructed his Cabinet to work with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency but clarified that Cabinet members should be the ones making staffing decisions.government, at times stepping on the Cabinet secretaries’ toes.
Several members of Trump’s Cabinet bristled when Musk recently ordered federal employees to outline their work or face termination, with multiple agencies and departments initially fending off the effort.
President Donald Trump said he told his Cabinet secretaries during a meeting Thursday that staffing decisions will be left up to them, not Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump said he instructed Cabinet members to work alongside DOGE on spending and workforce reductions while clarifying that final job cuts will be at the discretion of the department leaders.
“We just had a meeting with most of the Secretaries, Elon, and others, and it was a very positive one,” Trump said on Truth Social. “It’s very important that we cut levels down to where they should be, but it’s also important to keep the best and most productive people.”
“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,'” Trump added.
