12:30 Report — Musk, Trump Cabinet meet amid power struggle

12:30 REPORT

Welcome! Capital Weather Gang just predicted that Washington’s cherry blossoms will peak on March 23! 🌸 Today's forecast in DC: ⛅ 60° (Find your weather here)

In this edition:

Musk attends Trump’s first Cabinet meeting
Musk, Cabinet in a power struggle
Republicans balk at Trump’s Russia support
Elon received more than $38 billion in government funds

One big happy family:

President Trump convened his Cabinet for its first official meeting of his second term.

The tea: Tech billionaire and top Trump ally Elon Musk got the invite despite not being a Senate-confirmed part of his team.

Musk got the invite but not a seat at the table: Musk was 📸 seated behind Cabinet officials. But Trump first turned to Musk, who was sporting a black MAGA hat, to let him speak and answer journalists’ questions. 📸 Musk addressing the Cabinet

🫖 Musk’s inclusion made for an interesting dynamic: There’s already some tension between Musk and Cabinet officials, who are in a turf war over who has authority. Musk set of a chain of confusion over the weekend by calling on all federal employees to email a bullet-point list of accomplishments to justify their employment. Several agencies jumped in, telling workers to ignore the email. But then Musk doubled down on his threat of termination for any worker who doesn’t respond.

➤ HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE MEETING:

Musk admitted he made some mistakes: "We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect ... so for example, with USAID, one of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was Ebola prevention,” Musk said. 📹 Watch the clip

Musk explained his request for 5 bullet points from federal employees: “I think that it was misinterpreted as a performance review but it was a pulse check review. Do you have a pulse? Do you have a pulse? So if you have a pulse you can reply to an email,” Musk said. 📹 Watch

Trump on people who haven’t responded: “I would like to say, those million people that haven’t responded, they are on the bubble... maybe they don’t exist. Maybe they are going to be gone,” Trump said. 📹 Watch

The Cabinet clapped for Musk: When a reporter asked if anyone in the room opposes Musk's effort to purge the federal government, everyone clapped. “If you are, I’ll throw them out of there,” Trump said.

It started with a prayer: HUD Secretary Scott Turner kicked off the meeting with a prayer. 📸 Photo

➤ EXPECT MASS LAYOFFS IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:

A new memo from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directs agencies to send in plans for widespread layoffs by March 13.

Musk companies get big lift from government:

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has carved out role to purge the federal government and cut spending. However, a new analysis from The Washington Post estimates that Musk has received “at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits.”

For example: “Shortly after becoming CEO of a cash-strapped Tesla in 2008, Musk fought hard to secure a low-interest loan from the Energy Department.”

But most of that $38 billion is recent: Roughly two-thirds of the funds have been in the past five years.

Read the WaPo report: ‘Elon Musk’s business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding’

➤ MORE READS:

The Wall Street Journal: The Trump Staffers Who Get Paid by Private Clients
The New York Times: On X, Conservative Activists Find a Direct Pipeline to Musk’s Team
The Atlantic: The Adolescent Style in American Politics
Axios: Trump's media-control strategy

➤ THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS CONTROL:

“The White House said Tuesday that it would take over which outlets are allowed into the press pool covering the president, wrestling such control from the White House Correspondents’ Association,” reports The Hill’s Dominick Mastrangelo.

Fox News’s Jacqui Heinrich posted an argument against the White House’s move. “This move does not give the power back to the people - it gives power to the White House,” she argues. She also argues Republicans will be unhappy with this decision in the long term. 🔎Read her argument 🔎 And this 🔎 And this

➤ TIDBITS:

Trump greeted the White House’s first tourist group of the year on Tuesday. 📸 Photo from the great Doug Mills 📹 Watch the tourists’ reactions

🔵 In Congress

By golly, they did it:

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) did it. After a wild evening of drama on the House floor, he (with some help from President Trump) successfully corralled his caucus to pass the first step in President Trump’s legislative agenda.

Why this is a big deal: As of yesterday, more than a dozen House Republicans seemed unlikely to vote for it for various reasons (some didn’t like the deficit spending, others worried about potential Medicaid cuts). At one point, the vote was canceled but then was back on the agenda just 10 minutes later.

Yes, this: “If you’re a fan of the reality show ‘Survivor,’ what’s happening on the House floor right now is basically a live tribal,” notes The Hill’s Emily Brooks.

Read Mychael Schnell and Emily Brooks’s reporting on the late-night drama.

For the moderates concerned about potential cuts to Medicaid: The New York Times examined what could be cut instead of Medicaid. “Not much,” it found.

Republicans are a little alarmed about Trump’s Russia support:

“Republican lawmakers are sounding the alarm over the Trump administration’s pointed refusal to blame Russia for starting the war in Ukraine, and they are highly skeptical about negotiating any lasting peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom some describe as a war criminal,” reports The Hill’s Alexander Bolton.

What sparked this?: The U.S. sided with Russia and its allies (like North Korea and Belarus) in a United Nations resolution condemning Russian aggression toward Ukraine.

Read the reactions from Republicans: ‘GOP lawmakers sound alarm over Trump’s Ukraine strategy’

Keep in mind: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit the White House on Friday.

➤ LIGHTER TIDBITS:

Stumpy runs on Dunkin’: Stumpy the cherry blossom tree mascot was 📸 spotted at the Dunkin’ in the Longworth House Office Building.

A congressman opted to take a skateboard over the train: The Washington Post’s Paul Kane captured a photo of Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) 📸 riding a skateboard in the underground hallway toward his office.

Plz email me if you know anything about this: Fox News’s Liz Elkind noticed that 📸 tiny Jesus statues are popping up all over Capitol Hill.

🛬 Other News

I do not like this. No, I don’t:

An American Airlines pilot quickly aborted his landing Tuesday morning to avoid colliding with another plane at Reagan Washington National Airport.

And then: A few hours later, a Southwest plane and a private jet almost collided on the runway at Midway International Airport in Chicago. Trump suggested that the pilot of the small plane should have his license suspended. 📹 Watch the near miss at Midway

💡 The collisions were avoided, but this is still a big deal: Just weeks ago, an American Airlines flight collided with a helicopter, killing 67 people. This prompted an investigation of aviation safety. Just a few days after the deadly collision, two other deadly airplane crashes happened in Philadelphia and Alaska.

🐝 Internet Buzz

🥜 Celebrate: Today is National Pistachio Day, which now feels like a day dedicated to the viral “Dubai chocolate.”

🎤 Spilling the tea: Monica Lewinksy appeared on the latest episode of the popular podcast "Call Her Daddy." 🎥 Watch here

🐶 I mean, the resemblance is uncanny: There’s a mountain in China that looks exactly like a puppy. It’s become a tourist attraction. 📸 See for yourself

🍳 Not the time for your omelet era: Egg prices are expected to increase 41 percent this year.

📆 On The Agenda

The House and Senate are in. President Trump is in Washington. (all times Eastern)

Noon: The Senate holds a confirmation vote. Two more votes are expected later this afternoon. 📆 Today’s agenda
3 p.m.: Trump signs executive orders.
4 p.m.: First and last votes. 📆 Today’s agenda
Friday: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the White House.

👋 And Finally…

Because you made it to the end, watch these mother-daughter black labs grow up together.

Stay Engaged

Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com. A friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.

View past issues of 12:30 Report here and check out other newsletters from The Hill here. See you next time!

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