President Donald Trump convened his Cabinet in person to make one thing clear: department heads, not Elon Musk, are in charge of their agencies.

According to two administration officials, Trump told senior members of his administration that while Musk could provide recommendations, he did not have the power to make unilateral decisions on policy or staffing. Musk was present at the meeting, Politico reports.

The discussion followed a period of turbulence triggered by mass firings and threats directed at government employees by Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His actions have created widespread uncertainty across the federal workforce.

The moves by DOGE have faced intense legal challenges and criticism from both Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans.

Trump’s directive marks the first significant effort to scale back Musk’s influence. Under the president’s new guidance, DOGE and its personnel should serve in an advisory capacity, while final decisions on hiring, policy implementation, and departmental operations remain in the hands of Cabinet secretaries.

Musk, participating in the discussion, signaled his agreement with Trump’s decision. A person familiar with the meeting said Musk admitted that DOGE had made some mistakes, an acknowledgment he also shared with members of Congress earlier in the week.

Trump emphasized that his goal is to retain skilled federal employees rather than conduct sweeping dismissals of qualified workers. However, in recent weeks, his administration has carried out mass terminations across multiple agencies, affecting tens of thousands of federal employees.

A federal judge and the chair of a civil service board have both ruled that these dismissals were not based on performance-related concerns and may have violated civil service protections.