Trump to convene first cabinet meeting, including Musk
US President Donald Trump is set on Wednesday to convene his first Cabinet meeting since returning to office last month, in an effort to further his agenda with most of his nominees now having been confirmed by Congress.
President Donald Trump will hold his first Cabinet meeting since his return to office, bringing together his newly confirmed team to advance his policy agenda.
Among the attendees is billionaire Elon Musk, now leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an agency tasked with slashing bureaucracy and terminating thousands of federal employees. Though Musk holds no formal decision-making power, he has been designated as a "special government employee" and "senior adviser to the president," according to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Musk, Trump’s top donor in the 2024 election, is one of several controversial figures in the new administration. Other contentious appointments include Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic; Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, known for promoting conspiracy theories; and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host accused of sexual misconduct.
Despite Democratic outcry over their qualifications and past controversies, all of Trump's Cabinet picks have been approved by the Senate, where Republicans maintain a narrow majority. Trump’s dominance within the party has deterred opposition, with only former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell voting against Kennedy’s confirmation due to his stance on vaccines and public health.
Several appointees, including Labor Secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer and former Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon, are still awaiting Senate approval.
Meanwhile, Musk’s DOGE initiative has already sparked major upheaval. On Tuesday, a third of his staff resigned after he ordered all federal workers to justify their roles or risk termination. Government agencies have largely dismissed or downplayed the directive, but thousands of probationary employees—those recently hired or promoted—have already been fired since Trump's return to office.
This article was reported by journalist Angelia.