Trump talks widespread layoffs and 'gold card' visas in first Cabinet meeting

President Trump hosts Cabinet meeting at WH

President Trump held the first meeting with his Cabinet secretaries, with Elon Musk in attendance, on Wednesday afternoon. He highlighted his influence over the administration and said a deal on earth minerals with Ukraine can bring the U.S. "great wealth."

President Donald Trump met with his newly-appointed White House Cabinet for the first time on Wednesday.

Also attending the meeting was tech billionaire Elon Musk. Cabinet meetings are traditionally attended by Cabinet secretaries who are appointed by the president and the White House chief of staff, as well as the president and the vice president.

Trump pitches $5 million ‘gold card’ visa for citizenship

During the first meeting of his second-term Cabinet, Trump said he plans to start selling a "gold card" visa with a potential pathway to U.S. citizenship for $5 million, seeking to have that new initiative replace a 35-year-old visa program for investors.

What they're saying:

"I happen to think it’ll sell like crazy. It’s a market," Trump said. "But we’ll know very soon."

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks after signing an executive order on expanding access to IVF at his Mar-a-Lago resort on February 18, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. Later today, Fox News will air a joint interview between President Trump an

Expand

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters during the same meeting that Trump’s initiative would replace the EB-5 program, which offers U.S. visas to investors who spent about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people.

Lutnick said that program "has been around for many years for investment in projects" but "it was poorly overseen, poorly executed."

The new program could mark a dramatic shift in U.S. immigration policy but isn't unprecedented elsewhere. Countries in Europe and elsewhere offer what have become known as "golden visas" that allow participants to pay in order to secure immigration status in desirable places.

Widespread federal layoffs expected

Also at the cabinet meeting, Trump discussed a memo circulating that says federal agencies must develop plans to eliminate employee positions, setting in motion what could become a sweeping realignment of American government.

What they're saying:

"We’re cutting down the size of government. We have to," Trump said during the first Cabinet meeting of his second term. "We’re bloated. We’re sloppy. We have a lot of people that aren’t doing their job."

Agencies are directed to submit by March 13 their plans for what is known as a reduction in force, which would not only lay off employees but eliminate the position altogether. The result could be extensive changes in how government functions.

More plans are due on April 14, when agencies are expected to outline how they will consolidate management, become more efficient and potentially relocate offices to parts of the country that are less expensive than Washington. The memo said agencies should implement their plans by Sept. 30.

Administration officials framed their effort as a cost-saving measure but with a clear ideological goal.

"The federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt. At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public," said the memo from Russell Vought, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, and Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, which functions as a human resources agency. "Instead, tax dollars are being siphoned off to fund unproductive and unnecessary programs that benefit radical interest groups while hurting hard-working American citizens.

The other side:

Kevin Owen, an employment lawyer who represents federal workers, compared the administration's initiative to the kind of disruptions that are caused by government shutdowns during congressional budget standoffs.

"This looks like a plan for a significant and shocking reduction of the federal workforce that I don't think the American people are prepared for," Owen said. "It's going to cripple a lot of government functions."

Trump’s Cabinet

Trump to hold first Cabinet meeting of second term

President Donald Trump will hold his first Cabinet meeting Wednesday morning amid a push to slash government spending, the White House says. Elon Musk will be in attendance for the meeting. Republican strategist Jeanette Hoffman joined LiveNOW from FOX to discuss.

Here is a look at Trump’s confirmed Cabinet members so far:

Treasury: Scott Bessent

Attorney General: Pam Bondi

Interior Secretary: Doug Burgum

Veterans Affairs: Doug Collins

Transportation Secretary: Sean Duffy

Director of National Intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard

Defense Secretary: Pete Hegseth

Health and Human Services Secretary: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Administrator of the Small Business Administration: Kelly Loeffler

Commerce Secretary: Howard Lutnick

Homeland Security Secretary: Kristi Noem