Trump says his Cabinet, not Musk, is in charge of agency cuts : NPR

President Trump advised his Cupboard members on Thursday that they’re answerable for employees reductions, not Elon Musk, amid persevering with questions over the billionaire adviser’s function in a drastic reshaping of the federal authorities.

Trump mentioned he’d advised his Cupboard as a lot in a closed-door assembly with most of his secretaries, which Musk additionally attended.

“I do not need to see a giant minimize the place plenty of good persons are minimize. I would like the Cupboard members to maintain the great folks, and the folks that are not doing an excellent job, which might be unreliable, do not present as much as work, and many others., these folks will be minimize,” Trump advised reporters within the Oval Workplace.

“If they’ll minimize, it is higher. And if they do not minimize then Elon will do the slicing,” the president mentioned.

Musk is the general public face of the Trump administration’s efforts to slash federal spending and staffing by the Division of Authorities Effectivity, or DOGE, which regardless of its title is just not an precise federal company. Nevertheless, the White Home says Musk is just not the administrator of DOGE however as an alternative a “particular authorities worker” who advises the president and has no energy to set coverage.

The opacity over who’s main DOGE and what authority Musk wields has fueled criticism and legal challenges to DOGE and to mass firings carried out at many businesses. Trump himself added to the confusion when he mentioned in his address to Congress this week that DOGE is “headed” by Musk.

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Chief John Thune, R-S.D., told CNN that whereas Musk’s targets and targets are proper, company leaders are “most likely higher attuned to the person applications.”

The Trump administration is planning additional widespread reductions in pressure throughout federal businesses. In a social media post on Thursday, Trump wrote: “[N]ow that we’ve my Cupboard in place, I’ve instructed the Secretaries and Management to work with DOGE on Price Reducing measures and Staffing. Because the Secretaries find out about, and perceive, the folks working for the assorted Departments, they are often very exact as to who will stay, and who will go. We are saying the ‘scalpel’ relatively than the ‘hatchet.'”

Trump added: “It is crucial that we minimize ranges right down to the place they need to be, but it surely’s additionally necessary to maintain the perfect and most efficient folks.”