Fox News Anchor Puts GOP Senator On the Spot About the Trump-Musk Blowup: He Had a ‘Huge Conflict of Interest’
Fox News anchor Gillian Turner confronted Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) on Thursday over what she saw as Elon Musk’s “huge conflict of interest” in the White House as the Tesla CEO and President Donald Trump publicly escalated their feud.
Appearing on Fox News, Cornyn defended Musk’s brief stint leading the White House’s DOGE initiative, which aimed to streamline government spending.
Cornyn credited Musk with identifying inefficiencies in federal agencies, but Turner interjected to flag what she said was an ethical concern.
“The bigger problem, Senator, with this blow-up is it’s not just about the salacious back and forth between the two,” Turner said. “It really highlights the reality that the whole time Elon Musk was employed by the White House, he had this huge conflict of interest. He had a direct hand in shaping the policies that would affect his companies.”
Cornyn brushed aside her comments.
“Well, I don’t think the richest man in the world is too worried about this particular bill. And I think his intentions were very positive,” Cornyn said.
He pivoted to long-term GOP policy goals, emphasizing tax cuts and deficit reduction as part of Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”
The on-air exchange came just hours after Trump and Musk exchanged a series of escalating public attacks, signaling the apparent end of their political alliance.
Trump, seated alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office earlier Thursday, dismissed Musk’s criticism of his budget bill and accused the Tesla CEO of disloyalty.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump claimed he asked Musk to “leave” the White House and accused him of going “crazy” after Trump eliminated electric vehicle mandates. He also threatened to terminate government subsidies for Musk’s companies.
Musk responded on X by calling Trump’s version of events “an obvious lie” and took the fight further by posting: “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”
Watch above via Fox News.
