Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida recently gave Elon Musk a reality check over the fact that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cannot override Cabinet officials’ authority or unilaterally dismiss federal employees.
“Elon Musk does not have the power to fire people,” Scott stated during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on ‘State of the Union’ on Sunday.
“The president of the United States is Donald Trump, and the agency heads are the ones who manage each of their departments.”
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Scott’s remarks follow a contentious Cabinet meeting in which administration officials voiced frustration over Musk’s efforts to influence staffing and policy decisions within various federal agencies.
Trump advocates ‘scalpel over hatchet’ approach in Federal workforce reforms
One notable clash reportedly occurred between Musk and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy regarding DOGE’s attempts to lay off air traffic controllers. However, Duffy later described the meeting as “productive” in a post on X.
{{/usCountry}}One notable clash reportedly occurred between Musk and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy regarding DOGE’s attempts to lay off air traffic controllers. However, Duffy later described the meeting as “productive” in a post on X.
{{/usCountry}}“The President’s approach of a scalpel versus a hatchet and better coordination between Secretaries and DOGE is the right approach to revolutionizing the way our government is run,” Duffy said.
When pressed by Tapper about Duffy’s reservations regarding DOGE’s approach. “You do your best every day,” Scott said.
“What they’re trying to do is rein in government, right? Are they going to be perfect? No one is perfect. When they make a mistake, are they going to fix it? Yeah.”
Notably, during the Cabinet meeting Trump also explicitly told his Cabinet officials that Musk does not have the authority to make decisions regarding staffing or policy.
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Scott is not the only Republican backing Trump’s latest position on Musk’s role. “Elon Musk is your partner,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also weighed in during an appearance on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ with Kristen Welker.
“He’s your partner in technology, he’s your partner in thought, he’s your partner in doing. What President Trump made clear, is that Elon is your partner. That is what we like.”