Two senior Republicans reinforced US President Donald Trump‘s new approach on Elon Musk‘s effect, emphasising that the Department of Government Efficiency never bypass Cabinet officials or ignore federal employees, stating that, “he is a partner and has no power to fire people”.
” Elon Musk does not have the power to fire people”, Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida said Sunday in an appointment with CNN’s Jake Tapper. ” The president of the United States is Donald Trump, and the company faces are the ones who manage each of their agencies”, he added.
Scott’s notes followed a anxious Cabinet meeting where management officers voiced concerns about Musk’s meddling in manpower and policy choices within their agencies.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy immediately described the appointment as “productive” in a blog to X on Friday, whilst indicating his broader worries about Musk’s plan to rebuild federal government.
” The President’s view of a knife versus a knife and better cooperation between Secretary and Depends is the right strategy to revolutionizing the way our government is run”, Duffy said, Politico reported.
During the conference, Trump instructed his Cabinet officers that Musk lacks authority to make personnel and policy decisions—marking Trump’s second major limitation on Musk’s power. Trump clarified that DOGE’s position is expert, with Cabinet officials retaining last expert over staffing, policies and execution.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, another GOP official, acknowledged DOGE’s contributions during a Sunday interview on NBC’s” Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker. When questioned about firm management, Lutnick characterised Musk as his “partner”.
” Elon Musk is your partner”, he said. ” He’s your companion in tech, he’s your companion in thought, he’s your partner in doing. What President Trump made obvious, is that Elon is your partner. That is what we like”, he added.
Trump’s revised guidelines for DOGE follow Musk’s initiatives for substantial redundancies and proposals to remove various government agencies, causing stress amongst governmental employees.
Despite DOGE’s controversial actions, Lutnick indicated Cabinet officials remain united in collaborating with Musk to reduce government expenditure. ” You have the best technologist and richest guy in the world saying’ I’ll help you,’ come on, we want his help”, Lutnick concluded.
