Elon Musk and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly had a heated argument during a Cabinet meeting while President Donald Trump observed. The disagreement was about staff cuts in the federal government.

According to reports, Trump reminded his Cabinet members that they, not Musk, have the final say on staffing and policy decisions. Musk, who was assigned by Trump to reduce government bureaucracy, accused Rubio of not firing enough people. He claimed that Rubio had resisted his push for major staff reductions.

Rubio pushed back, saying that at least 1,500 employees from the State Department had already taken early retirement buyouts. He even sarcastically asked Musk if he wanted him to rehire those employees just to fire them again.

The meeting was reportedly called because many agency heads and top White House officials, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, were unhappy with Musk’s aggressive approach to cutting staff. Members of Congress also received complaints from their constituents about the situation.

However, when asked about the clash, President Trump denied any conflict. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he dismissed the claims, saying, “No clash, I was there. Elon and Marco get along great and are both doing a fantastic job.”

Despite Trump’s denial, reports suggest tension remains over how government staff reductions are being handled.