White House Doesn’t Deny Musk And Bessent Fight, Says ‘Disagreements’ Are Part Of Process

Topline

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not deny reports that President Donald Trump’s key adviser Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent got into a yelling match when asked about it by reporters Wednesday, rather saying disagreements are “part of the healthy debate process.”

White House Senior Advisor Elon Musk walks to the White House after landing in Marine One on the … More South Lawn with President Donald Trump (not pictured) on March 9, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty Images

Key Facts

Axios reported Wednesday that Bessent and Musk “got into a heated shouting match in earshot of” Trump and other officials during a conversation about the IRS at the White House last week.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Leavitt said: “There are disagreements amongst the president’s staff and Cabinet sometimes, but we think that’s part of the healthy debate process. And everybody knows that, ultimately, President Trump is the decision maker.”

The New York Times had previously reported Bessent complained to Trump that Musk had Gary Shapley—who has since been removed—named acting director of the IRS without Bessent’s approval.

Leavitt gave a similar statement to the Times, saying, “it’s no secret President Trump has put together a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country … Disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process.”

Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.

Crucial Quote

“It was two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing,” one witness told Axios of the fight between Musk and Bessent (Bessent is not on Forbes’ billionaires list). Another witness told Axios, “It was quite a scene. It was loud. And I mean, loud.”

Key Background

Musk has been serving as an adviser to Trump since January, overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency and working as a special government employee. Musk’s involvement in the Trump administration has drawn criticism as he works to slash the federal workforce and federal spending. In the few months DOGE has been in operation, it has been responsible for an estimated 280,253 layoffs impacting 27 agencies, according to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The layoffs DOGE has conducted have raised a number of legal challenges and resulted in thousands of workers having their firings reversed and being hired back. Musk acknowledged DOGE had some troubles while overhauling the government, saying from the Oval Office in March “We are moving fast, so we will make mistakes, but we’ll also fix the mistakes very quickly.”

Tangent

Musk said Tuesday his time with the Trump administration “will drop significantly” beginning next month, but he will spend a day or two or a week working with the government “for as long as the president would like me to do so, and as long as it is useful.” Musk said he’ll devote more time leading Tesla, which just announced it had its worst quarterly profit since 2021.

Forbes Valuation

Forbes estimates Musk has a net worth of $368.8 billion, making him the wealthiest man in the world.