On February 26, 2025, President Trump hosted his first cabinet meeting and addressed critical issues ranging from DOGE’s federal workforce cuts to the bird flu and the price of eggs to international conflicts.
During the meeting, Elon Musk, who was extremely vocal about his goals for the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was questioned about an email sent to federal workers that asked for their accomplishments. While many viewed the email as a performance review that insulted and undermined federal workers, Musk and President Trump explained that it was simply a “pulse” check, designed to figure out which people on the government payroll have passed away or are not actually real people.
More significantly, Musk was asked whether or not he had new plans for utilizing DOGE to execute more federal firings, to which he explained that the Social Security Administration (SSA) must cut its staff by half, and an equal employment office in the Department of Labor needs to reduce its workforce by 90 percent. Critics of DOGE argue that there are negative implications to cutting an already understaffed and overwhelmed SSA, as it could further delay the cases of one million people waiting to receive a decision regarding eligibility for social security benefits.
Prior to the meeting, some cabinet members criticized Musk for DOGE’s federal cuts; however, when asked in the meeting to express some of their concerns pertaining to DOGE, they declined to respond. Many Americans are alarmed by this silence, fearing that Musk’s presence in the government has prevented senior government officials from doing their jobs properly and critiquing who Democrats call the “unelected co-president”. Despite being very vocal in the cabinet meeting and appearing to be the main representative of DOGE, the White House continues to clarify that Musk is not DOGE’s administrator and has no “formal authority” over decisions.
Outside of federal workforce cuts, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) created a plan to remedy egg shortages that have emerged due to the bird flu. In addition to providing funding to farmers to repopulate their flocks, the USDA seeks to make a one billion billion dollar investment to combat the virus. They plan to dedicate half of these funds to upgrading poultry farm biosecurity to reduce the interactions between domestic flocks and wild birds.
Overall, the cabinet meeting divulged cabinet members’ plans for embracing federal cuts, gave more insight into the role Musk will play throughout President Trump’s second term, and covered various other pressing issues in our nation.