‘It Was WWE’: Elon Musk Reportedly Got into a ‘Loud’ Shouting Match With Trump’s Treasury Secretary in the West Wing

President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Tech billionaire Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly got into a shouting match near President Donald Trump in the White House.

Last Friday, The New York Times detailed a supposed “power struggle” between Bessent and Musk. That struggle led to a heated exchange after Bessent accused Musk of going around him to have Gary Shapley installed as the acting commissioner of the IRS. Not long after Shapley’s appointment, he was replaced by Michael Faulkender — Bessent’s deputy.

While the initial report from The New York Times merely described it as a “clash,” additional reporting from Axios on Wednesday revealed the two men actually got in each other’s faces — and it was all within earshot of Trump.

The report continued:

The clash — with both men in each other’s face — showed how much Musk’s personality and style have rankled some senior administration officials since he began running roughshod through agencies with DOGE.

According to one source, the men “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.” Another source described it to Axios as “quite a scene” and emphasized how “loud” the exchange was.

Additionally, representatives of both Musk and Bessent confirmed the argument did happen.