According to New York Times reporters Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had a heated argument with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a Thursday, March 6 meeting in the White House that President Donald Trump attended. Musk, who is the unofficial head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), chastised Rubio for not doing enough to downsize the U.S. State Department — and Rubio reportedly didn't appreciate Musk's comments at all.
Trump, according to Swan and Haberman, listened to the conversation but didn't take sides. And the Times' reporting is fueling speculation that Trump may be getting ready to rein Musk in.
But according to Politico reporters Holly Otterbein, Jordan Wolman, Marcia Brown, Nahal Toosi and Sophie Gardner, federal workers remain skeptical about reports of Trump possibly getting ready to take away some of the power he has given Musk via DOGE (which is not an actual government agency authorized by Congress).
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In an article also published on March 7, the journalists explain: "Federal workers, Democrats and even some Republican lawmakers want to believe that President Donald Trump clipped billionaire adviser Elon Musk's wings Thursday. But many of them aren't counting on it."
The reporters continue, "After Trump privately told his Cabinet that they are in charge of their departments and Musk does not have the authority to fire government workers — a stunning shift in their alliance should it pan out — rank-and-file federal employees said they were skeptical in light of weeks of confusing and contradictory guidance. None of the more than a dozen federal workers Politico spoke to reported being told by their supervisors or labor unions that anything had changed directly due to Trump's Cabinet meeting and subsequent comments."
David Casserly, a U.S. Department of Labor employee, is deeply skeptical of claims that Trump will rein Musk in.
The federal worker told Politico, "I don't really expect them to necessarily start implementing what they say they will. I'll believe it when I see it."
A U.S. Department of Agriculture employee told Politico that they have "zero optimism and zero trust" that Trump will actually do anything to restrain Musk, and another federal worker, who is also quoted anonymously, is skeptical as well — telling Politico, "I don't trust a word of it….. (Trump is) attempting to insulate himself a bit from the court losses and the shift in public opinion, but I don't think it will change anything."
Read Politico's full article at this link.