President Donald Trump is placing new limits on billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after a high-level meeting with cabinet secretaries on Thursday. The shift signals a more controlled approach to federal downsizing, as Trump moves to balance aggressive cost-cutting with strategic staffing decisions.
In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump emphasized that while DOGE has been “an incredible success,” cabinet secretaries should have greater authority in determining who stays and who goes within their respective agencies.
“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,” Trump wrote. “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.”
Trump’s message signals a shift away from the broad layoffs Musk has overseen through DOGE. Instead of the sweeping cuts that have characterized the department’s work so far, Trump now wants cabinet officials to take a more measured approach—what he calls a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet” strategy.
“We just had a meeting with most of the Secretaries, Elon, and others, and it was a very positive one,” Trump added. “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.”
Musk Acknowledges Early Missteps
Musk, responding to the meeting on X, called the discussion “very productive” and shared Trump’s post. According to Politico, which first reported on the meeting, Musk acknowledged that DOGE had made some missteps early on and agreed with Trump’s decision to give cabinet officials the final say on personnel decisions.
DOGE has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who argue that Musk’s approach to cutting federal staff is reckless. Even some Republicans have urged caution, warning that mass layoffs could result in the loss of competent employees and disrupt essential government functions.
In some cases, DOGE’s aggressive cuts have already backfired. The department has fired employees only to ask them to return days later. At the Department of Energy, for example, DOGE terminated and then attempted to rehire hundreds of workers responsible for managing America’s nuclear weapons stockpile. A similar reversal occurred at the Department of Agriculture, where DOGE fired and later rehired employees responsible for handling the federal response to the bird flu outbreak, which has contributed to rising egg prices.
Confusion Over Musk’s Employee Productivity Test
Musk has also stirred controversy with his unconventional management tactics. In late February, he ordered federal employees to respond to an email listing five things they had accomplished that week or face termination. The directive caused confusion, with Trump appointees like FBI Director Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard advising employees not to comply immediately.
Musk later softened his stance, explaining that the directive was meant to expose underperforming employees rather than serve as a mass firing mechanism. The Trump administration reported that over a million federal workers responded to Musk’s email—just under half of the government’s total workforce.
The effort followed Trump’s encouragement for DOGE to take a “more aggressive” stance in streamlining the federal bureaucracy. However, the administration now appears to be recalibrating its strategy in response to early missteps.
Discrepancies in DOGE’s Budget Savings
Beyond personnel issues, questions have also emerged about DOGE’s reported financial savings. While Musk initially claimed the department had saved $55 billion in taxpayer money, a closer review found the actual number to be closer to $7 billion—far from Musk’s ambitious $2 trillion target. Critics have pointed to inconsistencies in DOGE’s public reports, with some cost-cutting measures overstated or based on contracts that will not generate immediate savings.
Despite these challenges, Trump continues to back Musk’s broader mission. The president has praised DOGE’s team of engineers for their role in executing his executive orders and has dismissed media efforts to drive a wedge between him and Musk.
What’s Next for DOGE?
The Trump administration has made it clear that federal downsizing will continue, but under a more controlled framework. A recent memo from the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget instructed cabinet secretaries to coordinate with DOGE on staffing reductions and agency restructuring.
Musk has already overseen a voluntary buyout program, which approximately 75,000 federal workers have taken so far. But his most significant project has been dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), an agency the Trump administration has targeted due to what it views as wasteful spending on leftist initiatives abroad. Supporters of the move argue that USAID’s remaining programs should be consolidated under the State Department.
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