(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump held his third Cabinet meeting with Elon Musk in attendance on Monday.
It’s the third such meeting Musk has attended — despite not being an official member of Trump’s Cabinet.
During Trump’s first Cabinet meeting, Musk gave a presentation about his efforts with the Department of Government Efficiency, and the second featured a reported clash between Musk, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.
Tariffs and the economy
Trump continued to promote his view that tariffs will be great for the U.S. and said countries will be treated “very fairly.”
Economists have long warned that tariffs will be passed on to consumers and could worsen inflation when many Americans still feel financially squeezed.
When asked about projections of stagflation, Trump said it takes time to go over numbers but there will be “never seen before.”
Cuts aren’t popular, but DOGE needed: Trump
At Monday’s meeting, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum discussed Musk’s attempts to slash the federal workforce, specifically contracts that DOGE have identified as “fraud,” according to Trump.
Trump said it’s not “popular” to make cuts but said the American people understand that the administration is trying to make the country better.
“I have no idea how it plays out in the public … but it has to be done,” he said.
Trump defended Musk, saying that the billionaire hasn’t asked him for anything even when it comes to policies like residing the electric vehicle mandate which could hurt Musk’s bottom line.
Musk said the DOGE team had been getting death threats as a result of the department’s work,
When a reporter attempted to ask about the number of jobs that would be cut from the government, the press pool was pushed out of the room,
‘External Revenue Service’ coming: Lutnick
Cabinet officials gathered for the meeting minutes after Trump announced a “secondary tariff” on Venezuela come April 2. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the U.S. would impose a 25% tariff on any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela.
It’s the latest move in Trump’s ongoing tariff war. “We’ve been ripped off by every country in the world,” Trump said at the Monday meeting.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told the Cabinet meeting that the “External Revenue Service” is soon going to launch to collect revenue from the tariffs imposed.
“What is so exciting is April 2 is just around the corner, and that is American Liberation Day,” Lutnick said Monday.” That is the day when the rest of the world starts to treat America with respect.”
McMahon addresses Education Department
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said her department needs to “address the issues in education now,” pointing to plummeting test scores
“We will go farther and farther down,” McMahon said.
Last week, Trump signed an executive order to begin dissolving the Department of Education and reallocated several programs to other departments, including shifting the nation’s student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration.
Noem to visit El Salvador prison
Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem discussed her visits to the border and her plans to visit the El Salvador prison where deportees are being held.
Trump’s administration is facing a legal battle over deportation flights to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which a federal judge tried to stop to no avail.
Officials are due in court Monday afternoon for a hearing on those flights and whether they violated the judge’s orders.
Noem also said the agency would eliminate FEMA.
Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks
The meeting comes as U.S. officials convene with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia to negotiate a potential ceasefire.
Rubio told Cabinet members that America should be “proud” it has a president bent on “promoting peace.”
Greenland visit
Trump characterized a trip by his allies, including second lady Usha Vance, as a friendly visit and claimed officials in the country had asked the U.S. to go there.
Greenland’s government has slamed the visit, which it deemed aggressive.
