- President Donald Trump emphasized that Elon Musk will remain a partner to administration officials, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The executive branch will take a more refined approach in its cost-cutting endeavors to keep the “great people,” Lutnick said.
Amid reports of tension between Elon Musk and top administration officials, President Donald Trump emphasized to his cabinet that the world’s richest man is their partner, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.
During a meeting at the White House Thursday, cabinet members and Musk verbally jarred about the Department of Government Efficiency’s approach to slashing budgets, sources told the New York Times.
While those involved in the meeting said publicly it ended productively, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Secretary of Veteran Affairs Doug Collins divulged their grievances to Musk about DOGE’s cost-cutting endeavors, according to the report.
When asked Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press what Trump’s message was at the conclusion of the meeting, Lutnick replied that Trump stressed he wants to keep “great people” who already work in the government.
“The president’s advice and guidance was, let’s be super sharp. Let’s make sure we cut with a scalpel,” he said, adding that the cabinet secretaries and Musk all agreed with Trump’s directive.
When host Kristen Welker asked if Musk was in charge of the Department of Commerce, Lutnick affirmed that Musk is a fellow collaborator.
“What President Trump made clear is that Elon is your partner, and that is what we like,” he said. “You have the greatest businessman and the greatest technologist in the world as my partner.”
Lutnick reaffirmed the cabinet’s affinity for Musk saying, “we want his help.”
In recent weeks, the DOGE team has been busy slashing federal budgets, and in doing so accumulating a slew of federal lawsuits. Trump said that the DOGE team will only advise while agency heads will make decisions on cuts.
Meanwhile, Trump disputed the earlier report of strains among his staff.
When asked Friday about the argument between Rubio and Musk, Trump replied, “they’re both great guys and by the way, they both get along fantastically well.”
“Marco has done unbelievably at Secretary of State and Elon is a very unique guy, who’s done a fantastic job,” he said.