US President Donald Trump on March 7 responded to the news that billionaire Elon Musk had a conflict with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a meeting at the White House.
The New York Times reported that billionaire Musk argued with Secretary of State Rubio and also with Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy during a cabinet meeting chaired by President Trump on March 6.
Mr Musk is leading the Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a campaign to cut costs and cut jobs across government departments, which is said to have led to tensions with department heads.
President Trump: Cabinet Controls Layoffs, Not Musk
Musk mocked Rubio’s record of cutting costs at the State Department, accusing Rubio of “not firing anyone” in the first 45 days of the Trump administration, according to The New York Times. Rubio countered that 1,500 State Department officials had accepted early retirement and sarcastically asked whether he would hire them back just to fire them again.
After the cabinet meeting, Mr. Trump announced that the cuts would continue but with a “scalpel” instead of an “ax,” implying that he had seized the opportunity to rein in billionaire Musk, according to Reuters.
US President Donald Trump speaks at the White House on March 7
However, when asked by reporters on March 7 about the information that billionaire Musk had argued with Secretary of State Rubio, President Trump denied it, stating: "There was no conflict. I was there." Mr. Trump continued to affirm that Mr. Musk and Mr. Rubio "are both doing a great job... they both get along wonderfully."
In another exchange, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy accused DOGE of trying to fire key air traffic controllers while he was dealing with the aftermath of several plane crashes, prompting Musk to accuse Duffy of “lying,” according to The New York Times .
President Trump reportedly intervened to stop the controversy and proposed that from now on, key air traffic controllers would be hired from among the "geniuses" studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Since taking office on January 20, the Trump administration has laid off or announced layoffs of tens of thousands of federal employees in a radical efficiency drive.
Several US media outlets have reported on a disagreement between billionaire Musk and senior officials, who accused Musk's group of young DOGE officials of exceeding their authority, according to Reuters.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ong-trump-noi-gi-ve-tin-ti-phu-musk-xung-dot-voi-ngoai-truong-rubio-185250308074619682.htm
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