Amid an ongoing debate over layoffs of federal employees, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk got involved in an argument on Friday during a cabinet meeting. Rubio and Musk disagreed to each other in front of US President Donald Trump on the issue of quantity of the employees fired by the authorities.
While Elon Musk alleged that the US Secretary has not fired sufficient numbers of federal employees, Rubio stated that the DOGE chief is unaware of the facts, adding that several employees have opted for an early retirement buyouts.
However, president Trump clarified that the Cabinet heads, not DOGE, will have the right to make final decision on staffing and policy at their agencies.
Elon Musk accused Rubio of not being cooperative enough and stated that he has fired "nobody", adding that it has created an issue for him to manage the finance, reported New York Times. “You haven’t fired anyone," Musk reportedly told Rubio. He further jokingly said that the only employee Rubio has fired had belonged to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
However, Rubio stated that Musk was "not being truthful", pointing out that 1,500 State Department employees have already taken early retirement buyouts. “Didn’t they count as layoffs?" Rubio reportedly asked Musk. He further asked Musk whether the DOGE chief wanted to rehire them all and then fire again.
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Donald Trump, however, clarified that there was not any clash between Musk and Rubio, stating that both are working to make the system better and empowered. "No clash, I was there, you’re just a troublemaker," he told a reporter.
“Elon gets along great with Marco and they’re both doing a fantastic job," Trump said. "Marco has done unbelievably as Secretary of State. And Elon is a unique guy and has done a fantastic job," he added.