During President Trump’s first cabinet meeting, he humorously acknowledged Elon Musk’s controversial involvement, which had caused discontent among his cabinet members. Musk had recently ordered federal workers to report their activities, prompting pushback from several agency heads. Despite initial laughter at Trump’s comment about Musk, tensions were palpable, especially as Musk asserted his authority by claiming Trump’s approval for his employee demands. Dressed distinctly from the cabinet, Musk attempted to rally support, emphasizing the critical nature of his work. Ultimately, Trump assured reporters of his control over the cabinet, reinforcing his leadership amid the unusual power dynamics at play.
Approximately 12 minutes into his inaugural meeting with the new cabinet, President Trump tackled the obvious issue at hand. This was quite simple for him, considering the issue was literally 10 feet away, dressed in all black, standing over the head of the table where the president and cabinet members were seated.
“Is anyone dissatisfied with Elon?” Mr. Trump inquired. A wave of nervous laughter spread throughout the room. “If you are,” he continued, “we’ll have him out of here.” The cabinet members erupted into applause.
This was intended as a light-hearted remark — but how amusing did the various officials and aides crammed into the cabinet room truly find the predicament?
Just days prior, Elon Musk had bypassed all of their authority, instructing millions of federal employees to provide written accounts of their daily activities or face dismissal.
Some cabinet secretaries and agency heads expressed their reluctance. Employees from the Departments of State (led by Marco Rubio, at Mr. Trump’s right) and Defense (led by Pete Hegseth, at Mr. Trump’s left) were instructed not to comply with Mr. Musk’s directive. This was also true for the Departments of Energy, Homeland Security, and Justice.
Mr. Musk subsequently began posting about numerous individuals who had “failed even that silly test, sometimes encouraged by their supervisors.” The White House press secretary seemed either unable or unwilling to clarify what was unfolding or who answered to whom. It appeared that the first genuine power struggle of the second Trump administration was beginning.
The president attempted to maintain a façade of normalcy, but on Wednesday, he seemed aware that issues were brewing in his administration. “ALL CABINET MEMBERS ARE EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ELON,” he tweeted just hours before the meeting. “The Media will witness that at the Cabinet Meeting this morning!!!”
The cabinet members looked expectantly at Mr. Musk as he stood a few minutes into the meeting and began to speak.
Initially, it appeared as if he might have been assigned a lesser role in the meeting. He was not given an actual seat at the table; instead, he was positioned in the row of chairs behind it, next to other aides not at the cabinet level, like Stephen Miller and Peter Navarro. However, the president then called on the tech mogul to speak first — “I’d like to have Elon Musk please say a few words” — and Mr. Musk spent much of the remainder of the meeting standing over the table at which the cabinet was seated. He spoke significantly more than anyone else, with the exception of Mr. Trump.
Mr. Musk clarified to the cabinet that he had issued that demand to their employees only after consulting the president.
“I said, ‘Can we send out an email to everyone asking what they accomplished last week,’ and the president agreed,” he recounted. This represented a notable shift from traditional Washington dynamics — typically, subordinates would face the consequences even if the leader was at fault. Now, the subordinate was openly assigning blame to the leader to appease other subordinates he had bypassed, while the leader nodded in agreement.
It was captivating to observe Mr. Musk as he navigated both upward and downward authority simultaneously. “President Trump has assembled the best cabinet ever, literally,” he stated. “I don’t believe such a talented team has ever been formed.”
The talented team gazed back at him. He was attired quite differently from them. He donned a black MAGA hat and the same “Tech Support” T-shirt he wore during a joint interview with the president on Fox News last week. “I actually consider myself merely humble tech support,” remarked the world’s richest man, chuckling at this little expression of humility. A few cabinet secretaries laughed politely in response.
Mr. Musk sought to evoke sympathy for his challenging workload. “I’m receiving a lot of criticism,” he stated, “and have been subjected to numerous death threats, by the way.” He aimed for them to grasp the importance of his work. “If we don’t do this,” he said slowly for emphasis, “America will go bankrupt. That’s why it has to be accomplished.” (A report from the Washington Post released on Wednesday estimated that Mr. Musk’s business empire relies on $38 billion in government support.)
The multiple heads in the room shifted their gazes back and forth, alternating between Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump. The cabinet members faced the challenge of navigating two billionaire leaders — each commanding millions of followers on their respective social media platforms and known for their willingness to target those who dare to oppose them.
However, before the first cabinet meeting of the second Trump administration concluded, the president ensured that everyone understood who truly held the reins. A reporter inquired about his thoughts on “executive control” and presidential authority. “Is it your belief,” the reporter asked, “that you possess the power to summon any or all individuals seated at this table and issue orders they must adhere to?”
Mr. Trump lowered his voice slightly for emphasis. “Oh, yeah,” he replied, “they’ll follow the orders, yes, they will.”
No one misinterpreted that statement as humor.