Musk to loom large at Trump’s first cabinet meeting

AFP | Washington

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US President Donald Trump holds his first cabinet meeting Wednesday, joined by billionaire adviser Elon Musk, who is in charge of radically downsizing the US government and wields more power than anyone else in Trump’s inner circle.

Musk is not part of the cabinet and did not have to go through Senate confirmation.

Yet as the force behind his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, the Tesla and SpaceX chief has been given a free hand to enact unprecedented -- and brutally abrupt -- cuts to government programs and staffing.

His presence at the formal White House meeting alongside Trump’s actual department heads follows signs of growing tension within the government over his dominance.

Trump downplayed this shortly before the meeting, posting on his social media platform: “ALL CABINET MEMBERS ARE EXTREMELY HAPPY WITH ELON.”

“The Media will see that at the Cabinet Meeting this morning!!!” Trump wrote.

The cabinet meeting will be a chance for Trump to tout the dramatic start to his second term, while flanked by aides openly chosen in many cases for their lavish declarations of loyalty.Many of these top figures were successfully confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate despite unusually extensive questions over their experience or behavior.