Dozing, Doodles and a Misspelled Nameplate: Inside Trump's Final Cabinet Meeting of 2025

President Donald Trump dozed at times while his Cabinet meeting stretched past two hours on Tuesday — the last such gathering he said would take place until 2026. The session produced a mix of lighthearted gaffes and sharp exchanges: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended a September strike on a vessel, the budget director sketched a pastoral scene on White House stationery, and a misspelled nameplate that read "ssecretary of war" drew online ridicule.

Sleepy moments and small gaffes

Television cameras repeatedly captured the president leaning back with his eyes drooping and occasionally closing completely as Cabinet members took turns speaking. Trump pushed back on a recent news report about his stamina, insisting in the third person that "Trump is sharp."

The meeting also featured a visible typo: the nameplate in front of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth read "ssecretary of war," a misplaced extra "S" that quickly became a subject of online mockery. Hegseth opened the session and praised the administration's move to refer to his department as the "Department of War," a change that would require congressional action to take effect.

Doodles, long remarks and clashing messages

Budget Director Russell Vought was seen sketching a pastoral scene on White House letterhead — mountains, pine trees and rounded, Bob Ross–style clouds — along with an ambiguous arrow beneath the mountain. Meanwhile, Trump's opening remarks largely recycled recent policy announcements and familiar grievances, including repeated false claims about the 2020 election.

Although Trump urged officials to "go quickly," many Cabinet members delivered extended presentations. Several officials acknowledged affordability concerns even as the president dismissed Democratic warnings as a "con job." Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins described pressures on farmers; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called affordability a "crisis;" and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner pointed to rising first-time homeownership as progress toward easing housing costs.

Q&A turned substantive and contentious

The question-and-answer period yielded sharper exchanges. Hegseth defended a follow-up strike on a boat alleged to be carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea on Sept. 2, saying he "did not see survivors in the water" and that "the thing was on fire," and invoking the "fog of war" to explain the decision. He added that he "didn’t stick around" for the remainder of the mission after the initial strike.

Later, Trump said he did not want Somali immigrants in the United States, urging residents of the war-torn East African nation to remain and work on fixing their country and criticizing what he characterized as excessive reliance on U.S. aid. Cabinet members applauded; reporters were then quickly ushered out as the meeting ended. Trump punctuated the conclusion by slapping the table twice, pushing back his chair, standing and playfully thumping Hegseth on the shoulder.

All told, the gathering ran more than two hours, shorter than an August session that stretched three hours and 17 minutes but long enough for attendees and viewers to note both policy detail and moments of levity.