Before the fight with Rubio, Musk was reportedly going back and forth with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Duffy told Musk that young staffers at DOGE were trying to lay off air traffic controllers amid a string of deadly plane crashes in the United States, according to The Times.

US President Donald Trump watched a volley of attacks exchanged between billionaire advisor Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

A White House meeting turned tense as Elon Musk and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio clashed over the scale of staff cuts in the government. While Musk pushed for deeper reductions, Rubio defended his record,