President Trump is disputing reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed with close Trump adviser Elon Musk during a testy Cabinet meeting Thursday.
“No clash, I was there, you’re just a troublemaker,” he told an NBC News reporter in the Oval Office. “Elon gets along great with Marco and they’re both doing a fantastic job.”
The president said, “Marco has done unbelievably as secretary of state. And Elon is a unique guy and has done a fantastic job.”
The New York Times reported Friday that Mr. Musk laid into Mr. Rubio at the meeting, blasting the secretary of state for not firing a significant amount of his workforce, adding that he is only “good on TV.” The paper cited interviews with five people with knowledge of the meeting.
Mr. Musk, the tech billionaire, is involved with the Department of Government Efficiency, a cost-cutting advisory agency.
Mr. Rubio has been “furious” with Mr. Musk and the DOGE for shuttering the U.S. Agency for International Development, an agency that provides humanitarian assistance to developing nations around the globe, The Times reported.
He reportedly pushed back at Mr. Musk, accusing him of lying about the agency. Mr. Rubio also asked if Mr. Musk wanted him to rehire 1,500 State Department employees who took early buyouts so the tech billionaire could make a big show of firing them all over again.
After the argument dragged on for a bit, Mr. Trump jumped in to defend Mr. Rubio, saying he was doing a “great job.” The president said Mr. Rubio was very busy, always traveling, on television and running an agency. He implored his staff to work together, the outlet said.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told The Times that Mr. Rubio considered the meeting “an open and productive discussion” and said the Trump administration is “united in achieving the same goal: making America great again.”
During the meeting, Mr. Trump said that Cabinet secretaries should be the ones managing layoffs and budget cuts, but Mr. Musk should be available to advise them.
