\nAt the first cabinet meeting of his second term, President Trump asked Elon Musk to speak first. The man tasked with slashing the federal government spoke far more than anyone else, other than Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n\n
![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/peter.murmann.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Cabinett_Meeting-150x150.jpeg\")
<\/div>\n\nElon Musk told members of President Trump\u2019s cabinet that he had gotten Mr. Trump\u2019s approval to order their employees to explain how they spend their days or else face termination<\/p>\n
Feb. 26, 2025<\/p>\n
About 12 minutes into the first meeting of his new cabinet, President Trump addressed the elephant in the room. This was rather easy for him to do, since the elephant was standing 10 feet away, dressed all in black, hovering over the head of the table at which the president and the members of his cabinet sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs anybody unhappy with Elon?\u201d Mr. Trump asked. Nervous laughter began to ripple around the room. \u201cIf you are,\u201d Mr. Trump continued, \u201cwe\u2019ll throw him out of here.\u201d The cabinet started clapping.<\/p>\n
It was meant as a joke \u2014 but just how funny did the various officials and aides crammed into the cabinet room really find the situation to be?<\/p>\n
Days earlier, Elon Musk had gone over all their heads, ordering millions of federal workers to submit a written explanation of how they spend their days or else face termination.<\/p>\n
\nSome of the cabinet secretaries and agency heads balked. Employees at the Departments of State (led by Marco Rubio, who sat on Mr. Trump\u2019s right) and Defense (led by Pete Hegseth, who sat on Mr. Trump\u2019s left) were told not to comply with Mr. Musk\u2019s order. Same for the Departments of Energy, Homeland Security and Justice.<\/p>\n
Mr. Musk then began to post about the many people who had \u201cfailed even that inane test, urged on in some cases by their managers.\u201d The White House press secretary was unable or unwilling to explain what was happening or who reported to whom. It seemed as though the first true power struggle of the second Trump administration was underway.<\/p>\n
The president tried to pretend all was well, but he seemed to understand on Wednesday that there was trouble in his court. \u201cALL CABINET MEMBERS ARE EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ELON,\u201d he posted a few hours before the meeting. \u201cThe Media will see that at the Cabinet Meeting this morning!!!\u201d<\/p>\n
The cabinet members stared expectantly at Mr. Musk as he stood up a few minutes into the meeting and began to hold forth.<\/p>\n
At first, it seemed as though he might have been relegated to a lesser power position in the meeting. He was not given an actual seat at the table; he was put in the row of chairs behind it, alongside other aides who are not at the cabinet level, such as Stephen Miller and Peter Navarro. But then the president asked the tech mogul to speak first \u2014 \u201cI\u2019d like to have Elon Musk please say a few words\u201d \u2014 and Mr. Musk spent much of the rest of the meeting standing over the table at which the cabinet sat. He spoke far more than anyone else, other than Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n
Mr. Musk explained to the cabinet members that he had sent that demand to their employees only after clearing it with the president.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018Can we send out an email to everyone just saying what did you get done last week,\u2019 and the president said yes,\u201d he told them. This was a reversal of the way things usually work in Washington \u2014 it used to be that underlings would take the fall even if the boss was to blame. Now the underling was publicly pointing the finger at the boss to mollify the other underlings he had trampled over, while the boss nodded along.<\/p>\n
It was fascinating to watch Mr. Musk as he attempted to manage both up and down at the same time. \u201cPresident Trump has put together the best cabinet ever, literally,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that such a talented team has ever been assembled.\u201d<\/p>\n
The talented team stared back at him. He was costumed very differently from them. He wore a black MAGA hat and the same \u201cTech Support\u201d T-shirt he had on last week when he sat for a joint interview with the president on Fox News. \u201cI actually just call myself a humble tech support,\u201d the world\u2019s richest man said, chuckling at this little bit of modesty. A few cabinet secretaries laughed along politely.<\/p>\n
Mr. Musk tried to appeal to their sense of pity for the difficult work he has undertaken. \u201cI\u2019m taking a lot of flack,\u201d he said, \u201cand getting a lot of death threats, by the way.\u201d He wanted them to understand just how crucial his work is. \u201cIf we don\u2019t do this,\u201d he said, slowing down for emphasis, \u201cAmerica will go bankrupt. That\u2019s why it has to be done.\u201d (A report in the Washington Post published Wednesday found that Mr. Musk\u2019s business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding.)<\/p>\n
The many heads in the room turned back and forth, looking to Mr. Musk one minute and Mr. Trump the next. The members of the cabinet must contend with two billionaire bosses \u2014 both of whom command millions of followers on the social media platforms they own, and who are known for attacking anyone who dares to defy them.<\/p>\n
But before the first cabinet meeting of the second Trump administration adjourned, the president made sure everyone knew who was actually in charge. A reporter wanted to know how he thought about \u201cexecutive control\u201d and the power of the presidency. \u201cIs it your view of your authority,\u201d the reporter asked, \u201cthat you have the power to call up any one or all of the people seated at this table and issue orders that they\u2019re bound to follow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump lowered his voice somewhat dramatically. \u201cOh, yeah,\u201d he said, \u201cthey\u2019ll follow the orders, yes, they will.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody mistook that one for a joke.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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