Trump limits Musk's authority, says he can't fire federal workers

US President Donald Trump convened an in-person cabinet meeting on Thursday to inform members that they, and not Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are in charge of their departments.

According to media reports, Musk was present when Trump delivered this message. During the 90-minute meeting, Trump clarified that while Musk is empowered to make recommendations to the departments, he cannot issue unilateral decisions on staffing and policy.

The meeting comes at a time when Musk has been blamed for firing federal officials, and days after Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) stated that cabinet secretaries should retain full power to hire and fire.

Reports suggest that similar cabinet meetings will be convened every two weeks. The meeting marks the first instance of Trump formally acting to rein in Musk’s power. Trump also assured his cabinet, “Keep all the people you want, everybody that you need.”

“I want them to do the best job they can,” Trump said. “Where we have good people, that’s precious, that’s very important, and we want them to keep the good people.” However, he added that Musk is still expected to make recommendations for cuts and will only intervene if department heads are not making sufficient reductions.

Musk on board with Trump’s decisions

The tech billionaire agreed with Trump and stated that he was on board with the decision. Reports suggest that Musk acknowledged that his department had made some missteps. He also told Republican lawmakers that he is not responsible for mass federal firings and that the decision to fire remains with the agencies.

The clarity provided by Trump during this cabinet meeting may ease frustration among judges who have criticised his administration for failing to clarify who is leading the bureaucracy-culling effort and whether Musk himself is directly involved in ordering steep job and programme cuts.

A week ago, Musk, as DOGE chief, gave federal workers a 48-hour deadline to explain the work they did in the past week or face job cuts. The announcement was met with confusion, as several departments instructed their employees not to respond to Musk’s email.