Washington, March 9 US President Donald Trump on Sunday denied reports of a heated exchange between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Elon Musk regarding widespread federal workforce cuts during a recent White House meeting.
Addressing the matter on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump posted, "Elon and Marco have a great relationship. Any statement other than that is fake news!!!"
This statement follows a New York Times report claiming that during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Musk, the administration's cost-cutting chief, criticised Rubio for failing to implement significant staff reductions at the State Department. Musk reportedly accused Rubio of firing "nobody."
In response, Rubio reportedly pointed out that over 1,500 State Department officials had recently opted for early retirement through buyouts. He sarcastically asked Musk if he wanted those employees rehired just to be fired again.
According to CNN, when asked about the reported clash, Trump dismissed the claims, stating, "No clash, I was there. Elon gets along great with Marco, and they're both doing a fantastic job. There is no clash."
Trump also defended his administration's strategy on federal job cuts, vowing to use a "scalpel" rather than a "hatchet" in reducing the federal workforce -- a response to growing concerns over the aggressive layoffs in recent weeks.
The New York Times reported that some Cabinet members had expressed concerns to the White House regarding Musk's "ready, fire, aim" approach to job cuts.
Since the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Musk, began its work in late January, over 30,000 US federal employees have reportedly been laid off.
Meanwhile, the White House previously stated that around 75,000 federal employees had accepted a "buyout" plan, offering eight months of salary for "deferred resignation."
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