Feb. 26 (UPI) — President Donald Trump convened his first Cabinet meeting Wednesday with Elon Musk present as he works alongside the Department of Government Efficiency.
The meeting got underway shortly after noon as Trump was flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth while Elon was in the room but not seated with the members of the Cabinet.
Trump defended Musk’s work as a special government employee as he tried to assure the public that there is harmony in his administration.
“CABINET MEMBERS ARE EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ELON,” Trump said on Truth Social Wednesday morning. “The media will see that at the cabinet meeting this morning.”
Leavitt said on Tuesday DOGE has focused on streamlining their agencies under the approval of Trump.
“Considering he is working alongside the president and our Cabinet secretaries, this entire administration will be in attendance [Wednesday] just to talk about DOGE’s efforts and how all of the Cabinet secretaries are identifying waste, fraud and abuse at their respective agencies,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
“Let me be very clear, the president and Elon and his entire Cabinet, are working as one unified team and they are implementing these very common-sense solutions.”
The first cabinet meeting comes as some of Trump’s initiatives pushed through by executive orders have become bogged down in federal court. Republicans are also trying to pass an aggressive budget that included tax cuts and massive reductions in government spending.
