Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were involved in a loud and fiery argument inside the White House last week, with President Donald Trump and other officials within earshot, according to Axios.
The scuffle occurred over a disagreement about who would head the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). According to reports, it started in a meeting in the Oval Office and spilled out into the hallway, continuing to escalate until both men were in each other’s faces, yelling loudly.
“It was two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing,” one witness said of the dramatic confrontation.
Although the New York Times previously quoted that Musk and Bessent disagreed on who should be the leader of the IRS, the extent of the argument — from shouting in a hallway — was not previously publicised.
“They were not physical in the Oval, but the president saw it, and then they carried it down the hall, and that’s when they did it again,” said one source as quoted by Axios.
Another witness added, “It was quite a scene. It was loud. And I mean, loud.”
TENSIONS OVER IRS PICK AND DOGE PROGRAM
The reason for the fight was Trump designating Gary Shapley, Musk’s choice, as the acting IRS commissioner. Bessent had been pushing hard for an alternative: Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender.
Bessent, according to reports, felt Musk went behind his back and caused confusion within the administration. At the Thursday meeting, things quickly got out of hand.
During the heated exchange, Bessent accused Musk of making big promises about budget cuts through the DOGE program but failing to deliver. Musk fired back, calling Bessent a “Soros agent” and mocking his past financial experience.
Even after the shouting ended, tensions didn’t cool. That evening, Trump supporter Laura Loomer publicly criticised Bessent on social media. Musk responded to her tweet with a “Troubling,” 11:02 PM posting.
The following day, it was made evident who the winner of the round was — the Times reported that Musk’s selection, Shapley, was out and Bessent’s selection, Faulkender, had been appointed to head the IRS.
This wasn’t the first time Musk and Bessent clashed. Their tense relationship began during the transition to the presidency, when Musk advocated for Howard Lutnick to head up the Treasury. Trump instead put Bessent at Treasury and gave Lutnick a role at Commerce.
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