Trump denies reports of Rubio-Musk clash, calls them ‘fake news’

US President Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed reports of a heated exchange between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Elon Musk over federal workforce cuts during a recent White House meeting.

Addressing the matter on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Elon and Marco have a great relationship. Any statement other than that is fake news!!!”

His response follows a New York Times report claiming that during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Musk, the administration’s cost-cutting chief, criticized Rubio for not implementing significant staff reductions at the State Department. Musk reportedly accused Rubio of firing “nobody.”

In response, Rubio allegedly pointed out that over 1,500 State Department employees had recently opted for early retirement through buyouts. He sarcastically asked Musk if he wanted those employees rehired just to be fired again.

According to CNN, when asked about the reported confrontation, Trump denied any clash, saying, “No clash, I was there. Elon gets along great with Marco, and they’re both doing a fantastic job. There is no clash.”

Trump also defended his administration’s approach to federal job cuts, promising to use a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet” in workforce reductions—an attempt to ease concerns about aggressive layoffs in recent weeks.

The New York Times reported that some Cabinet members had expressed concerns about Musk’s “ready, fire, aim” approach to job cuts.

Since the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Musk, began its work in late January, over 30,000 federal employees have reportedly been laid off.

Meanwhile, the White House previously stated that around 75,000 federal employees had accepted a buyout plan, offering eight months of salary for “deferred resignation.”