US President Donald Trump said he told his cabinet secretaries during a meeting on Thursday that staffing decisions will be left up to them, not Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.Trump said he instructed cabinet members to work alongside DOGE on spending and workforce reductions while clarifying that final job cuts will be at the discretion of the department leaders, NBC News reported."We just had a meeting with most of the Secretaries, Elon, and others, and it was a very positive one," Trump said on Truth Social.
"Its very important that we cut levels down to where they should be, but its also important to keep the best and most productive people.""As the Secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go.
We say the 'scalpel' rather than the 'hatchet,'" Trump added.The sweeping cuts carried out by DOGE have led to lawsuits, voter anxiety and heightened concerns from congressional Republicans.Trumps message was also a rare public curtailing of Musks authority as he moves to help reshape the federal government, at times stepping on the Cabinet secretaries toes.Several members of Trumps Cabinet bristled when Musk recently ordered federal employees to outline their work or face termination, with multiple agencies and departments initially fending off the effort.At the same time, Trump also praised Musk and DOGE after Thursday's meeting."I think they've done an amazing job," he told reporters.Musk called the meeting "very productive" in a post on X.
It was his second time attending a Trump Cabinet meeting; he dominated the first gathering last month when he called DOGE a support function to help the federal agencies find 15% reduction in fraud and waste.