President Donald Trump on Thursday convened a Cabinet meeting with most of his secretaries plus tech billionaire Elon Musk to discuss the ongoing efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency, but reports indicate there were tense conflicts between Musk and some of the other department leaders.

The reports suggested that Trump allowed the arguments to proceed for a bit before he finally intervened to halt the disputes, particularly between Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to The Independent.

It was further reported that Trump ultimately decided to rein in Musk and DOGE, at least in terms of firing federal workers and cutting programs, and relegated them to an advisory role with the Cabinet secretaries having the final say on whether to proceed with such decisions.

Tensions boil over between Musk and secretaries

The New York Times reported that tensions between Musk and Sec. Rubio that have been simmering for weeks finally boiled over during Thursday's Cabinet meeting at the White House with accusations and snide remarks hurled back and forth.

Musk accused Rubio of failing to reduce staff at the State Department while Rubio expressed frustration with the chaotic way in which Musk and DOGE shuttered the U.S. Agency for International Development, which the secretary believed should have been within his jurisdiction.

The heated discussion lasted for an "uncomfortable" amount of time before President Trump, who'd been quietly watching the argument unfold, eventually stepped in to defend Rubio while also heralding the DOGE cuts of waste, fraud, and abuse in federal spending.

That wasn't the only conflict to erupt at the meeting, however, as a similar argument unfolded just moments earlier between Musk and Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy over alleged efforts by DOGE to fire desperately needed air traffic controllers.

The Times report noted that most of the rest of the Cabinet secretaries held their tongues during the meeting, but sources indicate that several of them have privately raised concerns and frustrations with the way that Musk and DOGE have been operating and are reluctant to say as much publicly for fear of backlash from Musk and his supporters.

Making cuts with a "scalpel" instead of a "hatchet"

According to the New York Post, it would appear that at least some of the Cabinet's grumblings about Musk and DOGE have been heard and taken to heart by President Trump, as he reportedly reined them in and clarified that they would continue to serve in an advisory role with the secretaries maintaining final authority to fire workers or shutter agencies and programs.

Trump also made it clear that when it comes to those cuts of personnel and programs, he would prefer the precision of a "scalpel" as opposed to a "hatchet."

In a post-meeting Truth Social post, the president wrote, "DOGE has been an incredible success, and now that we have my Cabinet in place, I have instructed the Secretaries and Leadership to work with DOGE on Cost Cutting measures and Staffing."

"As the Secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go," he continued. "We say the 'scalpel' rather than the 'hatchet.' The combination of them, Elon, DOGE, and other great people will be able to do things at a historic level."

Trump reveals bi-monthly Cabinet meetings with DOGE

As for the Cabinet meeting itself, President Trump said it was a "very positive one," and stressed, "It’s very important that we cut levels down to where they should be, but it’s also important to keep the best and most productive people."

"We’re going to have these meetings every two weeks until that aspect of this very necessary job is done," he added. "The relationships between everybody in that room are extraordinary. They all want to get to the exact same place, which is, simply, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"