President Donald Trump defended his senior adviser Elon Musk, who attended a second Cabinet meeting Monday at the White House, as cost-cutting measures throughout the government were discussed and often praised.
Trump questioned each Cabinet secretary in the room about their work to eliminate government “waste, fraud and abuse” through Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, as he admitted it is “not necessarily a very popular thing” to cut staff.
“You know, you’re talking about employment, you’re talking about people and the lives of people. And yet, I think the American public understands we’re trying to save our country and make our country great again,” Trump said.
“I have no idea how it plays out in the public … but it’s something that has to be done,” the president added.
“He’s sacrificing a lot,” Trump said about Musk, who was seated at the end of the table and wearing a red “Trump was right about everything” hat. “He’s getting a lot of praise, I’ll tell you, but he’s also getting hit.”
Trump told reporters he has instructed department leaders to work with DOGE to reduce their workforce, but that future cuts would be at each Cabinet secretaries’ discretion.
“Keep all the people you want, all the people you need,” Trump said, as he warned insufficient cuts would not be enough. “If they can cut, it’s better. If they don’t cut, then Elon will do the cutting.”
The meeting then turned to each department in a discussion about what was being done to cut government waste.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said, “We have had many fraudulent contracts brought to light by Elon.”
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins reported that her agency canceled a $300,000 contract that she said educated queer and transgender farmers on food equality and food justice.
“The bureaucracy will never reform itself,” Rollins wrote after the meeting in a post on X. “DOGE is right-sizing government to the size and scope the American people mandated.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also weighed in on cuts at HHS, claiming more money had been going to administrators and bureaucrats than to scientists and health care.
“We’ve identified extraordinary waste within my department and HHS,” said Kennedy. “We are, with Elon’s help, eliminating redundancies. We are streamlining our department.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced her department is “going to eliminate FEMA,” the agency that responds to emergencies and natural disasters. No other information was provided. During the meeting, Noem also touted deportation numbers.
“We’re now not even just getting the worst of the worst out. We’re making sure that there’s consequence for being here and committing crimes in our communities,” she said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reported his department was working with Musk to upgrade the nation’s air traffic control systems.
“Our air traffic control system, we have decades of ideas and billions of dollars and no progress is ever made on these initiatives,” Duffy said. “We’re having a conversation about building a state-of-the-art, brand new technology, envy-of-the-world air traffic control system.”
“This is about safety. This is about people’s lives,” Duffy added, as he argued “in government, everything takes too long.”
Last month, President Trump held his first Cabinet meeting, which was also attended by Musk, who was not seated with members of the Cabinet.