US Secretary of State Marco Rubio got into a heated argument with American billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency, during a cabinet meeting.
Points of attention
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed with Elon Musk over accusations of not cutting staff at the Department of Government Efficiency.
- Elon Musk accused Rubio of lying by not firing anyone, while Rubio defended his record, citing 1,500 State Department employees taking early retirement.
- President Trump supported Rubio, highlighting his efficiency and heavy workload amid the disagreement with Musk.
Rubio had a fight with Musk
Rubio was angry because Musk accused him of not cutting staff, criticizing him directly in front of US President Donald Trump.
"You didn't fire anyone," Musk said.
Then he added that perhaps the only person Rubio fired was an employee from the Department of Government Efficiency, which belonged to Musk himself.
According to the publication, the US Secretary of State had been furious with Musk for weeks after he was fired by the USAID team, which was supposedly under Rubio's control. At a cabinet meeting attended by Trump and other officials, he nevertheless voiced his grievances.
Rubio denied Musk's claims, saying he was lying. He cited the example of more than 1,500 State Department employees who took early retirement due to severance payments, stressing that this was also a reduction in staff.
The Secretary of State also clarified whether it was possible that Musk wanted to rehire these people only to fire them again. After that, he presented his detailed plans for the reorganization of the State Department.
As the argument dragged on and became clearly uncomfortable, Trump finally stepped in to defend Rubio, saying he was "doing a great job" at his job.
He emphasized that the Secretary of State has a lot to do. According to Trump, Rubio is always busy, because he is either traveling or on television, and on top of that, he also runs an entire agency.
Note that earlier today, Politico reported that Trump had limited Musk's authority after mass layoffs.
