A US newspaper has reported that the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have clashed over the level of staff cuts during a Cabinet meeting.



The New York Times on Friday cited accounts from five people with knowledge of Thursday's incident, which took place as President Donald Trump watched.



The report said Musk accused Rubio of neglecting to cut the workforce, and of having fired "nobody."



It said Rubio responded sharply by saying Musk was not being truthful, and that more than 1,500 State Department officials took early retirement in buyouts.



The paper said Rubio had been privately furious with Musk ever since his team effectively shuttered the United States Agency for International Development, and the secretary's simmering anger spilled over at the meeting.



The USAID is under an umbrella of the State Department.



The report said the quarrel dragged on for an 'uncomfortable' time before Trump finally intervened by defending Rubio.



Trump told reporters on Friday that there was "no clash," adding that Musk and Rubio "are both doing a fantastic job."



There have been numerous media reports on dissatisfaction within the Trump administration over the way Musk is trying to reduce government spending, with some saying his methods are heavy-handed.