Musk, tariffs and tensions - takeaways from Trump's first cabinet meeting

Donald Trump held his archetypal furniture gathering astatine the White House connected Wednesday, turning the juncture into an extended question-and-answer league that lasted for much than an hour.

Speaking alongside his furniture - and billionaire Elon Musk who wore a "tech support" T-shirt - Trump covered a wide scope of topics, ranging from Doge's efforts to chopped authorities spending to immigration, the system and the warfare successful Ukraine.

Here are six takeaways from the meeting.

Trump was asked by reporters which authorities section - and, by extension, which furniture members - were astir resistant to his argumentation changes.

"So far, I'm blessed with each of those choices," helium said.

He added, however, that "some groups are overmuch easier than others", specifically praising the enactment of Elon Musk - who is not a furniture subordinate - and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

His medication is focusing connected "cutting down the size of government, we person to", helium added.

"We privation to person a balanced fund wrong a reasonably abbreviated play of time... meaning possibly by adjacent twelvemonth oregon possibly the twelvemonth after," Trump said.

Trump publically - and repeatedly - backed the enactment of Elon Musk and Doge, the Department of Government Efficiency, which has been tasked with slashing authorities spending and the national workforce.

The president sought to dampen immoderate speculation of hostility betwixt Musk and the remainder of his team.

"They person a batch of respect for Elon and that he's doing this, and immoderate disagree a small bit," Trump said. "But I volition archer you for the astir portion I deliberation everyone's not lone happy, they're thrilled."

"If they aren't, I privation them to talk up," helium added.

At 1 point, Trump was asked whether immoderate furniture members had expressed dissatisfaction with Musk and turned to the country to inquire them. None spoke.

Musk besides defended Doge, calling it a "support function" for authorities agencies to escaped themselves of fraud.

He acknowledged, however, that it volition marque mistakes, and noted that it had accidentally cancelled Ebola prevention efforts earlier reinstating them.

"But erstwhile we marque mistakes we'll hole it precise quickly," Musk said.

The president besides addressed Musk's email to national employees asking them to database 5 things they had done successful the past week oregon hazard losing their jobs, saying the furniture is "very overmuch behind" the initiative.

Trump speculated without grounds that immoderate of the astir 1 cardinal national workers who haven't responded to the email possibly "don't exist".

"Maybe they're going to beryllium gone," helium added.

"We're trying to fig retired who those radical are who haven't responded," Trump added. "We're being a small much surgical successful situations wherever radical are doing classified stuff."

Trump besides said helium was encouraging furniture members to "do their ain Doge" astatine their respective agencies.

He besides suggested that the Environmental Protection Agency, which is led by Lee Zeldin, could suffer arsenic overmuch arsenic 65% of its workforce.

Later successful the day, a memo was sent to national agencies asking them to taxable plans for "a important reduction" successful their unit by 13 March.

It asks agencies to supply a database of employees who are deemed not essential. The memo besides requests that aboriginal hiring beryllium constricted to 1 presumption for each 4 radical who are fto go.

These layoffs would beryllium successful summation to those already undertaken by Doge of chiefly probationary workers. Multiple US outlets person reported that astir 10,000 national workers were fto spell crossed respective agencies earlier this month.

That fig was successful summation to the estimated 75,000 workers who person accepted an connection from the White House to permission voluntarily successful the autumn.

Wednesday's memo represents different measurement successful Doge's efforts to further chopped down the size of the US government.

Exempt from this action, however, are positions successful instrumentality enforcement, borderline security, migration enforcement and military.

Trump confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky volition sojourn the White House connected Friday - thing that had antecedently been suggested.

Trump said the sojourn would see the US and Ukraine motion an expansive minerals deal, though the contours of that statement stay unclear.

He said the woody would let the US to "get our wealth back" for the assistance that Ukraine has been fixed successful the 3 years since it was invaded by Russia.

"We're going to get a batch of wealth successful the future, and I deliberation that's appropriate, due to the fact that we person taxpayers that shouldn't beryllium footing the bill," helium said. "It's each been worked out."

Zelensky has described the bilateral woody arsenic preliminary, and said helium wants further agreements which see US information guarantees to deter renewed Russian aggression.

Asked astir information guarantees for Ukraine successful the future, Trump said that the US would not supply any, arguing that the load should autumn to Europe.

Trump said helium is readying to deed goods made successful the European Union with tariffs of 25%.

"We'll beryllium announcing it precise soon," helium told gathered reporters. "It'll beryllium 25% mostly speaking and that volition beryllium connected cars and each different things."

"They've truly taken vantage of us," Trump said of the EU. "They don't judge our cars. They don't judge fundamentally our workplace products. They usage each sorts of reasons wherefore not."

Trump was besides asked if helium inactive plans connected implementing tariffs connected Canada and Mexico contempt the important driblet successful detentions of amerciable migrants astatine the confederate borderline and Canada's program to heighten borderline protection.

On 4 February, Trump abruptly agreed to clasp disconnected imposing 25% tariffs connected some countries for 30 days, pulling the 3 countries backmost from the brink of a perchance damaging commercialized war.

The day Trump cited appeared to beryllium an hold of that timeframe.

"April 2, the tariffs spell on," helium said. "Not each of them but a batch of them. And I deliberation that's gonna beryllium amazing."