Molly Ball

It was fascinating, and mostly because of someone who is not technically in the cabinet.

It was fascinating, and mostly because of someone who is not technically in the cabinet.

Who spoke first and spoke nearly as much as the president and spoke far more than any of the actual cabinet secretaries in the room. I am referring, of course, to Elon Musk.

Who spoke first and spoke nearly as much as the president and spoke far more than any of the actual cabinet secretaries in the room. I am referring, of course, to Elon Musk.

Who spoke first and spoke nearly as much as the president and spoke far more than any of the actual cabinet secretaries in the room. I am referring, of course, to Elon Musk.

And he continues to be this figure of fascination who seems to have, you know, free reign in the executive branch, although the technicalities of his position are still very unclear. He seems to like it that way, right? Because it lets him just sort of go wherever he wants and do whatever he wants.

And he continues to be this figure of fascination who seems to have, you know, free reign in the executive branch, although the technicalities of his position are still very unclear. He seems to like it that way, right? Because it lets him just sort of go wherever he wants and do whatever he wants.

And he continues to be this figure of fascination who seems to have, you know, free reign in the executive branch, although the technicalities of his position are still very unclear. He seems to like it that way, right? Because it lets him just sort of go wherever he wants and do whatever he wants.

But the lines of authority are very unclear, and this cabinet meeting certainly did nothing to resolve it because it seemed like, kind of like the Oval Office meeting a couple weeks ago, you know, Elon is kind of standing there answering all the questions almost on behalf of the president.

But the lines of authority are very unclear, and this cabinet meeting certainly did nothing to resolve it because it seemed like, kind of like the Oval Office meeting a couple weeks ago, you know, Elon is kind of standing there answering all the questions almost on behalf of the president.

But the lines of authority are very unclear, and this cabinet meeting certainly did nothing to resolve it because it seemed like, kind of like the Oval Office meeting a couple weeks ago, you know, Elon is kind of standing there answering all the questions almost on behalf of the president.

And Trump professes to be delighted by everything that Musk is doing, but there continue to be questions about, particularly, as you point out, you know, now that the cabinet is in place, don't they want to be in charge instead of Elon Musk when it comes to the departments and the workforces that they oversee?

And Trump professes to be delighted by everything that Musk is doing, but there continue to be questions about, particularly, as you point out, you know, now that the cabinet is in place, don't they want to be in charge instead of Elon Musk when it comes to the departments and the workforces that they oversee?

And Trump professes to be delighted by everything that Musk is doing, but there continue to be questions about, particularly, as you point out, you know, now that the cabinet is in place, don't they want to be in charge instead of Elon Musk when it comes to the departments and the workforces that they oversee?

So when Elon Musk, for example, sends an email that says, you must answer this email with the five things you did last week, and then several of the cabinet departments run by, you know, unequivocal Trump loyalists, like, say, Kash Patel at the FBI.

So when Elon Musk, for example, sends an email that says, you must answer this email with the five things you did last week, and then several of the cabinet departments run by, you know, unequivocal Trump loyalists, like, say, Kash Patel at the FBI.

So when Elon Musk, for example, sends an email that says, you must answer this email with the five things you did last week, and then several of the cabinet departments run by, you know, unequivocal Trump loyalists, like, say, Kash Patel at the FBI.

And they tell their workforces, actually, you don't have to answer the email. It might, you know, compromise security or whatever. And it plays into the congressional discussion as well, because while people think of this as just a bunch of Washington bureaucrats, 85% of federal workers are outside of Washington. You know, these are the doctors at the VA who treat your local veterans.

And they tell their workforces, actually, you don't have to answer the email. It might, you know, compromise security or whatever. And it plays into the congressional discussion as well, because while people think of this as just a bunch of Washington bureaucrats, 85% of federal workers are outside of Washington. You know, these are the doctors at the VA who treat your local veterans.

And they tell their workforces, actually, you don't have to answer the email. It might, you know, compromise security or whatever. And it plays into the congressional discussion as well, because while people think of this as just a bunch of Washington bureaucrats, 85% of federal workers are outside of Washington. You know, these are the doctors at the VA who treat your local veterans.