MAGA influencer Steve Bannon praised reports that President Donald Trump publicly reprimanded Elon Musk, curbing the tech billionaire’s authority to fire federal workers in his role as chair of the Department of Government Efficiency. “This is huge,” Bannon declared. “This has now come to a head of DOGE.”
The latest clash in the ongoing tensions between Trump and Musk erupted Thursday after reports surfaced that Trump convened his cabinet to deliver a pointed message to Musk. The billionaire’s sweeping personnel cuts had sparked criticism from lawmakers and outrage from the public.
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“He had his wings clipped,” Bannon said on his War Room podcast. “He was told point blank by the president in front of people—only department heads, only my cabinet officials or the heads of these alphabet agencies can actually fire people. You’re a consultant advisor; you have to go to them and do it.”
Bannon, a former White House strategist, expressed satisfaction with Trump’s decision, noting that “the president took it down even a notch from there.” “He said, ‘Hey, people are not showing up, people that did not come back to work, people are underperformers, people that are not up to the task, people are not doing their job, yes, they should be let go.
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But I don’t want any more mass firings. I don’t want a hatchet, I want a scalpel.’” Despite his enthusiasm for Musk’s leadership in the department, Bannon emphasized the need for transparency. “I’m a huge supporter of DOGE,” he stated. “But it can’t continue in just darkness.”
Bannon concluded that Trump limiting Musk’s power was a significant shift in their dynamic, adding that the move was “pretty brutal.” With Musk’s influence in the administration facing pushback and Trump asserting control over federal workforce decisions, tensions within the ranks of top Trump allies appear to be reaching a boiling point.
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