Washington DC - President Donald Trump was recently forced to pick a side after his Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly got into a clash with his top advisor, Elon Musk.

According to The New York Times, the two got into it during a private cabinet meeting on Thursday, after Musk reportedly accused Rubio of not firing State Department workers involved with USAID as directed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the made-up agency Trump appointed Musk to lead.

Rubio reportedly quipped back that 1,500 State Department employees had taken early buyouts, which should be considered layoffs.

It was said that he then sarcastically asked the billionaire if he should rehire those employees just so Musk could fire them again.

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A triggered Musk allegedly responded by telling Rubio that he was only "good on TV."

Trump – who sat silently watching the exchange for a reportedly "uncomfortable" amount of time – eventually intervened by defending Rubio, arguing he is doing a "great" job and has "a lot" to deal with.

The president then went on to tell his team that while he supports Musk's work, he should only be seen as an advisor, while his cabinet should oversee the firing of federal employees.

The heated exchange comes as Musk and DOGE have been rapidly firing federal workers across dozens of government agencies since Trump took office. Rubio had reportedly been fuming for weeks about Musk having fired USAID workers, as he was under the impression the agency was under his control.

Since the meeting, Trump and his team have been going out of their way to tamp down reports of the feud. In a Truth Social post, Trump called the meeting "very positive," and Musk similarly described it as "very productive" in an X post.

But when Trump was asked by a reporter on Friday about the spat, he got defensive, responding, "No clash. I was there – you're just a troublemaker. And you're not supposed to be asking that question."