The Doge congressional subcommittee in the Republican-led House of Representatives is meeting today to discuss the sweeping cuts to the federal government, and to defend them as necessary in order to stop wasting taxpayer money.

The hearing is titled "America Last: How Foreign Aid Undermined US Interests Around the World”.

Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican closely aligned with Trump, said in a statement released ahead of the hearing that it will address the "shocking" amount of money that has been spent overseas to "to push left-wing ideology, fund radical extremist groups, and usurp the will of the people abroad and here at home".

Witnesses at the hearing include a former employee of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) who now works for the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, another conservative think tank expert from the Middle East Forum, and a right-wing journalist from The Daily Signal.

One other witness, invited by Democrats, works for the left-leaning Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

The hearing has just started. We'll be bringing you updates as the event continues. You can watch live by clicking play at the top of this page.

President Donald Trump insists that "all cabinet members are extremely happy" with Elon Musk's work.

There have been suggestions that there might be some tension over the tech billionaire's role within government, after a number of key US departments - whose heads will be at this morning's cabinet meeting - told their staff not to comply with an order from his Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) asking them to write down what they had accomplished in the past week.

But this morning the president has insisted everyone is content with Musk and his work. "The media will see that at the cabinet meeting this morning," he says in a post on his Truth Social platform.

We're hearing this morning's cabinet meeting has just started.

There are no live pictures currently being fed from cabinet - we'll bring you more as we get it.

Image source, US Pool

Tech billionaire and leader of the new so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), Elon Musk has arrived at the White House ahead of the cabinet meeting.

He's wearing what appears to be his signature black "Make America Great Again" cap.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

There's a steady stream of black suburban cars currently idling between the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building - part of the White House complex, along with a small number of reporters hoping to catch a glimpse of Donald Trump's cabinet members entering the room.

Inside the White House's press briefing room, reporters covering today's events are gathered and waiting for word to go inside.

Most of Donald Trump's cabinet is now in place - and it features some contentious picks.

Among the more high-profile appointees are Secretary of State Marco Rubio - a former Trump critic - Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth - who has been subject of multiple sexual assault allegations, which he denies - and vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as health secretary.

• Read more about who is in Trump's top team

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Wearing a black "Make America Great Again" hat and dark sunglasses, Elon Musk - the multi-billionaire tasked by Donald Trump with taking a metaphorical chainsaw to the federal government - received a rock-star welcome as he took the stage at a right-wing gathering last Thursday.

He even had a literal chainsaw.

Outside of Washington, however, there are signs that Musk's chainsaw approach to federal government – which includes shuttering agencies, defunding programmes and mass civil service layoffs – may be cutting too close to the bone.

At about the same time as Musk was celebrating the work of his so-called "Department of Government Efficiency", Republican congressman Rich McCormick was holding a town hall forum for his constituents - many were angry about the impact of the Musk-inspired cuts and let the congressman know it.

And earlier this month, Pew Research found that 54% of Americans have an unfavourable view of Musk, including 37% that responded "very unfavourable".

• READ MORE:Musk wields his Doge chainsaw - but is a backlash brewing?

The cabinet's role was established in Article Two of the US Constitution, with members tasked with advising the president on any subject related to the office they hold.

They traditionally meet in a room adjacent to the Oval Office in the West Wing of the White House - how often they meet and when is at the discretion of the president.

The leaders of a number of top government departments, alongside the vice-president, are permanent members of the cabinet, and the president can designate other officials to attend too.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Bernd Debusmann Jr/BBC News

Good morning from the White House, where a steady stream of journalists and staff members are starting to stream in ahead of an important day for the Trump administration.

Today's cabinet meeting is slated to begin at 1100 EST (1600 GMT) - and will notably include Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who now oversees Doge.

Later on, at 15:00 EST (2000 GMT), President Trump is expected to sign executive orders, although we don't know quite yet what those will be.

That event is, for now, closed to the press. But we've frequently seen the events open up to the "pool" of press reporters. That was the case yesterday, when Trump spent approximately 45 minutes answering questions from journalists during another executive order signing.

Today is also the first day in which the press "pool" is reflective of new changes made when the White House took control of which outlets have access to Trump, taking control from the White House Correspondents' Association after more than a century.

The group that will have brief access to the cabinet meeting today include conservative news outlets NewsMax and The Blaze, while others who were originally slated to be there - including Reuters and the Huffington Post - have been left out.

Stay with us for more updates.

The so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) has been leading the US government's efforts to cut huge amounts of spending - and rapidly decrease the size of the federal workforce.

Polling suggests cutting government spending has widespread support.

But the new advisory body - led by tech billionaire Elon Musk - has encountered numerous legal obstacles, allegations of conflicts of interest, and fears it could wreak serious damage.

Doge is not an official government department, and was established through an executive order issued by Donald Trump.

It's unclear how much money Doge has actually saved the US taxpayer, but its X account has shared a litany of celebratory updates to cuts it has made across the board - from USAID to diversity, equity and inclusion contracts.

• READ MORE: What is Doge and why is Musk cutting so many jobs?

Thousands of Republicans - supporters of Donald Trump's 'Make America Great Again' (Maga) agenda - gathered in Washington DC last week for a major gathering of US conservatives.

The BBC asked those at the Conservative Political Action Conference what they thought about Elon Musk, and the work of the Department of Government Efficiency.

You can watch their responses below.

Alex Smith
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

All eyes are on the West Wing of the White House this morning, as US President Donald Trump is set to hold his first cabinet meeting of his second term in office.

With most of his nominees for the top government jobs now in place – after being confirmed by the Senate - it’s the first chance for them to gather as a group and set out their agenda for the administration.

Notably present too will be tech billionaire Elon Musk – a close Trump ally who oversees the advisory body called the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which has been making sweeping cuts to government departments.

There have been many questions in recent weeks over Musk’s role within the federal government. The White House says he is not Doge’s leader, and instead is a “close adviser” to the president - unlike others meeting today, he hasn't been vetted by lawmakers.

Musk is there because "Doge is working alongside every single” cabinet secretary round the table, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News earlier this morning. Part of the meeting’s focus is expected to be on savings made at each department.

There's been upheaval within Doge itself too, as just yesterday one third of its employees reportedly resigned after a mass email to federal workers ordered them to justify their work or risk being fired – several of those in Trump’s cabinet told their workers to ignore that email.

We’re expecting Trump’s top team to meet around 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT) this morning. Stick with us and we’ll bring you the latest.