Pulse News

**Elon Musk Speaks at Donald Trump's First Cabinet Meeting**

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan

Elon Musk attended Donald Trump's first cabinet meeting Wednesday, telling the room that his Department of Government Efficiency group, which is leading cost-cutting efforts across the federal workforce, was going to "make mistakes."

Addressing questions about his demand at the weekend that federal employees send an email listing their achievements for the last week or face losing their jobs, Musk said the exercise was a "pulse check review," and that anyone with "a pulse and two neurons" could reply to an email. He also said there were dead people and "fictional individuals" on the government payroll, without offering any evidence to support the claims.

Trump, who praised Musk at the meeting as a "tremendously successful guy," said employees who haven't yet responded to the email were "on the bubble," adding: “Maybe they're going to be gone." His comments are likely to sow more confusion among federal employees, who have been fielding mixed messages all week about whether the email request was mandatory or voluntary.