Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent allegedly fought Elon Musk in the West Wing after calling him a ‘fraud’. The incident may have even ended Musk’s relationship with Donald Trump. This year’s most shocking political drama didn’t unfold in Congress or on the campaign trail but it happened in the West Wing. According to Steve Bannon, a brawl broke out between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and billionaire Elon Musk after a heated Oval Office meeting over who should lead the IRS.
The altercation reportedly began when Bessent called Musk a ‘total fraud’, accusing him of reneging on promised spending cuts. Musk, in return, allegedly shoulder-checked Bessent in the ribs ‘like a rugby player’, leading to a brief physical scuffle that had to be broken up by bystanders. Bessent retaliated, and the fight ended only after Musk was escorted out of the White House.
The fallout was immediate. Donald Trump, who initially appointed both men to high-level roles, reportedly said the clash was ‘too much’, and the incident is now being cited as the final straw in Musk’s deteriorating ties with the former President.
Who Is Scott Bessent?
Scott Bessent, a Yale-educated financier, is the first openly gay Republican Treasury Secretary and the first LGBTQ+ Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in a GOP administration. He previously worked at top firms like Kynikos Associates and Brown Brothers Harriman, and was a major supporter of Trump’s economic agenda.
Despite Trump’s endorsement, Bessent has faced criticism from conservative circles and notably, from Elon Musk, who once slammed him as ‘business-as-usual’.
