The article details a tense meeting in the White House Cabinet Room between Senator Marco Rubio, Elon Musk, President Trump, and approximately 20 other attendees. The meeting focused on disagreements surrounding staff reductions and the restructuring of government agencies.
Elon Musk criticized Senator Rubio for not firing enough staff, claiming Rubio had only fired one person from Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Rubio countered by highlighting over 1,500 State Department officials who took early retirement buyouts, arguing these should be counted as layoffs. The core of the conflict stemmed from Musk's actions effectively shutting down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an agency supposedly under Rubio's control.
Rubio expressed his frustration with Musk's actions, emphasizing his detailed plans for reorganizing the State Department. He challenged Musk's claims of minimal staff reductions, questioning if Musk intended for Rubio to rehire the retired officials solely for the purpose of firing them again.