Washington
Cnn
–
A week after Elon Musk held the court in front of the cameras at the first meeting of President Donald Trump’s office, many leaders confirmed by the Senate of Ministries and Government Agencies were gathered in the cabinet room on Thursday for another type of discussion.
During a meeting of almost 90 minutes – this time, without any camera – Trump delivered a clear message while Musk, one of the most influential members of his administration, sat nearby.
The president told his agency leaders only if Musk’s efforts to reduce the size and expenses of the federal government have its total support, it is them, and not Musk, who are in charge of staff in their respective agencies.
“Keep everyone you want, everyone you need,” Trump told his office when he told the journalists later in the Oval office.
“I want them to do the best job,” said the president. “Where we have good people, it’s precious, it’s very important, and we want them to keep the right people.”
The meeting Thursday, which, according to Trump, would repeat itself every two weeks, was among the first examples of the acting president to slow down the large powers of Musk. Instead of a proverbial chainsaw, which Musk held during a high -level appearance last month, Trump said that the administration would miss a “scalpel” to make the future.
Musk should always make recommendations on agencies. And Trump clearly indicated that if his heads of department did not make enough discounts, the technological billionaire would intervene.
“We are going to watch them, and Elon and the group will watch them, and if they can cut, it’s better,” said Trump. “And if they don’t cut, then Elon will cut.”
But finally, Trump told his team, it is the members of the cabinet confirmed by the Senate who have the last word.
A White House official described the meeting as a recording after Trump’s address in the Congress, where he has exhibited the work that his administration has done in the past six weeks. Aside from the Ministry of Effectiveness of the Government, said Aid, the cabinet has also conferred national security problems and the main priorities. At least six members of the cabinet were not present, many traveling outside Washington this week for official functions.
But it is Trump’s directive on the cuts in the future that seemed the most important and has provided the greatest clarification to date on the dynamics of power of the second term Trump. The endowment was one of the main concerns for agency leaders, some of whom complained last week that their departments were unhappy, according to a person familiar with what happened at the first meeting of the cabinet after the journalists left the room.
“Very productive meeting,” published Musk on X, responding to the photographs of the White House published on social networks which showed images of the meeting on closed doors. After wearing a black hat and a t-shirt at the firm’s first meeting, Musk wore a suit and a tie on Thursday.
The head of the majority in the Senate, John Thune, sent an undoubted signal this week that the members of the cabinet should make the lead to make hiring and dismissal decisions in their own agencies, saying to CNN: “They will be better suited to individual programs.”
In recent weeks, silent grunts have emerged agencies at the top of the Musk’s efforts conference to reshape the federal government.
After Musk published a directive to all federal employees to tell their work weeks or their dismissal of risks, several agency leaders advised their own workforce to ignore the request until they can settle the request.
Later, a second email request was sent – this time with individual agencies, providing departments with more control over their own staff.
On Thursday, the meeting on camera, which was not included in the daily public schedule of the president, was also in contrast that striking with the time of marquee earlier this week when Musk got up in the house of the house and was praised several times by Trump during his speech to a joint session of the Congress.
While the richest man in the world bask in the applause of the Republicans at this time at proud hours, he also worked more and more behind the scenes to try to soften the raw edges of some of the most controversial decisions of his department of government efficiency.
For weeks, the chief of staff of the White House, Susie Wiles, paid particular attention to an increasing wave of criticism and complaints concerning the musk of republicans and business leaders. Wiles has a cordial and commercial relationship with Musk, familiar people with their dynamic discourse, and he accepted his suggestion to reach out and be more available to the members of the Congress.
Wiles came out of the firm’s first meeting last week a little early – a pre -Planified outing, long after Musk finished speaking – to attend a lunch with the Senate Republicans. She listened to the comments, recognized how she understood part of their anxiety and explained the nuts and bolts of the way the president and musk work.
“Musk works directly with the president and the president then works with the secretaries of the cabinet,” said Wiles, according to a story by senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri republican, who was lunch.
Several participants said they wanted to know more and hear Musk directly. A day later, 22 Republican senators came to the building of the Eisenhower executive office adjacent to the White House to meet Musk. They listened to Musk explained the cuts he was making and posed for a photo with him after the meeting.
The Republican Senator Mike Rounds of the southern Dakota called Musk to better explain how Doge would repair the errors they would make.
“In many cases, where they are carte blanche that make important cuts, how do we assure ourselves that this message comes back and that it is corrected as quickly as possible?” Said rounds.
He said Wiles “proposed to be contact when she was in front of us”, but noted “she is only one person”, so an official process was necessary.
This week, Musk, who has also become one of the greatest political benefactors of the Republicans, held consecutive meetings on Wednesday with members of the Chamber and the Senate.
He distant himself and his team of generalized fire across the federal government and blamed the heads of department, said GOP legislators.
“He just said that they had trusted the departments, you know, instead of using a cake to use a scalpel to get rid of unproductive people,” said representative Derrick Van Orden, a Wisconsin republican. “That’s all it is.”
To all the senators with questions, Musk offered his personal mobile phone number. But a few hours later, when he spoke to members of the room, he urged them to consult the DOGE website.
“How can I get you?” He said there was a website for that, “said representative Carlos Gimenez, a Republican from Florida, in CNN. “No, he didn’t give us his number.”
This story has been updated with additional details.