Washington - Saba:
US President Donald Trump said he told his cabinet ministers during a meeting last Thursday that employment decisions would be theirs, not Elon Musk's or his government efficiency management department.
US media reported that Trump directed the ministers to work hand in hand with Musk's administration in the areas of spending cuts and workforce reductions, while clarifying that the final decisions on job cuts will be in the hands of the ministry leaders.
Trump said via the "Truth Social" platform: "We had a meeting with most of the ministers and Elon and others, and it was a very positive meeting," adding: "It is very important that we reduce the numbers to where they need to be, but it is also important to keep the best and most productive people."
Trump pointed out that the ministers, thanks to their knowledge of the people working in their departments, can accurately determine who will be kept and who will be laid off, and said: "We say scalpel instead of axe," indicating that the cuts must be precise and deliberate.
However, the extensive cuts implemented by Musk's administration previously sparked lawsuits and concern among voters, in addition to concerns from Republicans in Congress, and some of Musk's decisions led to the anger of several members of Trump's government, as many agencies and ministries initially resisted these efforts.
Meanwhile, Trump praised Musk and his administration after the meeting, telling reporters, “I think they did a great job.” Musk described the meeting as “very productive,” in a post on X.
This was Musk’s second meeting with the Trump administration, dominating the first one last month when he described the Efficiency and Government Function as a “support function” to help federal agencies “find a 15% reduction in fraud and waste.”
Trump assured reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that his directive to his cabinet was to “keep all the people you want, all the people you need.” However, he indicated that Musk would step in if department heads didn’t make enough cuts, saying, “If they can make the cuts, all the better. If they can’t, Elon will make the cuts.”
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