The Trump Staffer Who Reportedly Got Into A Physical Confrontation With Elon Musk

Understandably, Elon Musk's addition to the U.S. government ruffled some feathers. And according to an April 2025 New York Times article, the Tesla founder got into a nasty public spat with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent because he believed that the tech billionaire had gone over his head and appointed the interim head of the IRS without Bessent's say-so. The overstepping naturally rubbed the Trump staffer the wrong way because the agency reported to him. Further, the Washington Post reported that Musk and the former hedge fund manager approached the president himself to help them resolve the conflict by picking a side. But, although Bessent emerged victorious, their fight was far from over. 

One of Musk's messiest feuds kicked off as the two men started exchanging heated jibes while walking away from the Oval Office. Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon claimed that Bessent had taunted Musk over his failure to unearth $1 trillion in unnecessary government spending. According to Bannon, "[Bessent] said, 'You're a fraud. You're a total fraud.'" An Axios insider then dished that the SpaceX founder responded by labeling his opponent a "Soros agent" and taking aim at his utter lack of financial skills.  

The Post noted that the spat got physical when the Tesla founder shoved his shoulder into his opponent's ribs "like a rugby player," prompting Bessent to fight back. The scuffle only ended when several people intervened. Bannon revealed that Trump believed that the two men had stooped too low with their physical argument. An onlooker shared some choice words about the fight with Axios: "It was two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing." However, Karoline Leavitt didn't see it the same way. 

Karoline Leavitt played it cool when she was questioned about the skirmish between Elon Musk and Scott Bessent. All the White House press secretary would confirm was, "There are disagreements amongst the president's staff and cabinet sometimes, but we think that's part of the healthy debate process," (via X, formerly known as Twitter). However, an Axios insider would likely disagree with that sentiment based on their perspective, clarifying simply, "It wasn't a fight about right or wrong. It was about control." It's worth noting, too, that following the disagreement, Musk didn't shy away from shading the Trump staffer on social media. In April 2025, the tech billionaire brought attention to a post claiming that Bessent was working with someone who had been in favor of the president's impeachment. Then, in May 2025, Musk walked into a Donald Trump presser with a black eye and had people wondering who had finally socked him. 

Unsurprisingly, the treasury secretary's name came up. While Trump's former BFF did not publicly address the speculation, he did cryptically tweet "Hmmm" alongside a link to a September 2025 Politico article claiming that Bessent had threatened to physically fight another White House employee. Musk was more direct when the former hedge fund manager told CNN that although the public liked what DOGE sought to accomplish, they were not particularly fond of Musk as a person. In another tweet, the SpaceX founder childishly criticized his opponent's math skills and slammed Bessent for working under the Soros group. Needless to say, he would have been pleased to see the rise and fall of Trump and Musk's relationship from BFFs to bitter enemies.