Trump Holds First Cabinet Meeting of Second Term... 'Power Player' Musk Also Attends
Musk Given Opportunity to Speak
"If Government Spending Isn't Cut, Bankruptcy Awaits"
Plans to Reduce Deficit by $1 Trillion by 2026
On the 26th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump held his first cabinet meeting since returning to the White House, during which Elon Musk, the civilian CEO of Tesla who is not an official cabinet member, attended and made a public statement.
President Trump presided over the cabinet meeting in the White House conference room, attended by ministers who had been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
At President Trump's suggestion, the attendees took a moment to pray before the meeting began. Sitting to President Trump's right and left were Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
President Trump devoted most of the first meeting to domestic and international issues, praising the first month of his term as successful. He promoted the so-called "Gold Card" idea, which grants citizenship to wealthy foreigners, and called egg prices a disaster. The day before, President Trump announced the implementation of a new visa program named the Gold Card. The gist is that paying 5 million dollars, approximately 7.1 billion Korean won, would grant permanent residency in the U.S.
President Trump also shared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's plan to visit the U.S. on the 28th, then praised the Tesla CEO leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and gave him an opportunity to speak.
Elon Musk, a close ally of President Trump, said, "We need to move quickly to reduce the federal deficit by trillions of dollars," adding, "If we do not cut spending, the U.S. will go bankrupt." He also stated that the goal is to reduce the deficit by 1 trillion dollars by 2026. The New York Times (NYT) reported that this amount is less than half of what was promised in the 2024 presidential election.
CEO Musk is currently pushing for a large-scale restructuring targeting 2.3 million federal government employees, which has sparked controversy over its legality. Some critics argue that Musk, a civilian CEO without official confirmation, reorganizing government agencies as if cutting corporate staff is an overreach of authority, and multiple lawsuits have been filed.
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As the controversy over overreach intensified, CEO Musk drew a line on the issue, stating, "I report to President Trump almost every day and always get his approval before making any decisions. Since there is a series of confirmation procedures in place, we (DOGE) cannot proceed arbitrarily," emphasizing the legitimacy and denying overreach.
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