On Wednesday, February 26, President Trump presided over his first cabinet meeting of his second term, bringing together top White House officials to discuss topics such as significant federal layoffs, Russia-Ukraine peace talks, and tariff collection. The meeting lasted approximately an hour.
Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), attended the meeting.
Here are the three main points of the meeting.
Although strictly speaking, Musk is not a member of the President’s cabinet, his leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency plays a significant role in the overall agenda of the Trump administration, drawing attention to his every word and action during the cabinet meeting, making him the focus of the meeting.
President Trump asked Musk to speak first, highlighting the importance of his role. Musk defined his role as “humble tech support.”
Musk emphasized, “The overall goal of the DOGE team here is to help address the massive (federal government) deficit problem. As a nation, we simply cannot sustain a $2 trillion deficit.” He outlined the achievements his team has made in significantly reducing the federal deficit.
He mentioned that the DOGE team had “accidentally” canceled an Ebola virus prevention program. He humbly admitted, “We make mistakes, we are not perfect.” He also mentioned that the work of the DOGE team has affected the interests of many people, and as his political visibility grows, he has received “many death threats.”
Trump’s value and trust in Musk are evident. During the meeting, he said, “Elon, let the cabinet members speak. Is anyone dissatisfied with Elon? If so, we will kick them out.”
Before the cabinet meeting, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) instructed government agencies to submit plans to significantly reduce the number of federal employees by March 13.
Trump stated that each agency within the cabinet needs to cut expenses and staff numbers, giving the example of EPA Director Lee Zeldin needing to “cut staff by around 65%.”
Both Trump and Musk made it clear that reducing the federal workforce is a top priority. Musk admitted, “We want to retain every employee who is performing important tasks and doing well, but if their work is not necessary, or if they are not performing well, they clearly should not be on the public payroll.”
In recent days, Musk posted on X, stating that every federal employee must summarize and report on their 5 accomplishments of the past week and submit them by email before the deadline, or face dismissal. The White House suggested that employees should follow the instructions of their respective agencies and then decide whether to respond, with the OPM stating that responding could be voluntary.
Musk described this requirement at the cabinet meeting as a “pulse check,” and he and Trump both claimed that some employees who did not respond to emails may not even exist.
During the cabinet meeting, Trump confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the White House on Friday, with both leaders hoping to finalize an agreement for American investment in key mineral development in Ukraine.
Trump hinted that this crucial mineral deal equates to Ukraine “automatically obtaining security” because “no one will do as they please with us (Americans).”
On Wednesday, when asked how to ensure Ukraine’s security, Trump described Europe as Ukraine’s “neighbor,” saying, “We want Europe to handle this, but we want to ensure everything goes smoothly.”
Last week, Trump criticized Zelensky as an “unelected dictator” and criticized his work as “terrible,” hinting that he should also be held accountable for the start of the war, which drew attention.
During the cabinet meeting, Trump once again criticized some traditional American allies for the country’s trade imbalances.
Trump once said, “Frankly, the EU was formed to harm the United States, that’s its purpose, they are not good to us in that aspect. But now, I am the President.”
Trump also criticized Canada, pointing out that Canada is almost entirely dependent on the U.S. economically. Trump said, “Without us, Canada cannot succeed. I’ve said it before, Canada should be our 51st state.”
Currently, the Trump administration is preparing to impose tariffs on Canada, the EU, and other countries, as well as specific goods.
President Trump has delayed plans to impose a 25% tariff on imported goods from Mexico and Canada until March 3 to push both countries to take more action to stop the illegal flow of drugs across borders. When asked at the meeting when new tariffs would be imposed on both countries, the President replied that they would take effect on April 2. This deadline has been extended by about a month.
Other tariffs, including retaliatory tariffs on any country imposing tariffs on American products, are expected to take effect in early April. Trump also said he intends to impose tariffs on imported cars, pharmaceutical materials, and semiconductors.
(This article references a report from “Congress Hill Report”)