White House Press Secretary Responds to Musk Dispute

White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt addressed rumors regarding a recent incident involving Elon Musk, clarifying her position on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. She stated she wasn’t present during the April occurrence but pushed back against describing it as a “boxing” match.

“I can’t really say it was a boxing fight, Maria,” she told host Maria Bartiromo. “I wasn’t there, but there was definitely a disagreement. I didn’t witness it firsthand.”

Leavitt acknowledged that when the story first emerged, she indicated from the podium that some healthy disagreements had taken place between the Cabinet and Musk. “There were moments of frustration from both sides, but it really reflects the dynamics of this cabinet and the presidential team,” she said.

She mentioned, “We moved on from that,” noting that the administration’s focus now is on advancing a significant bill that aims to reduce waste and fraud within the government. “This is a key element of our agenda,” she added.

Last week, Musk expressed considerable discontent regarding the bill and his former ally, President Trump. Following this, Trump’s associate, Steve Bannon, claimed Musk had clashed with Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent a couple of months prior.

Bannon recounted that Musk allegedly confronted Bescent aggressively, claiming he had called him a “scam.” “Scott said to Musk, ‘You’re a scam. You’re a complete scam,’” Bannon said, recalling Musk’s actions as akin to a rugby player’s tackle.

According to Bannon, others in the room had to intervene to separate the two. “When President Trump heard about it, he thought, ‘This is too much,’” Bannon remarked.

As a former chief strategist for Trump, Bannon has gone so far as to suggest that the government should consider deporting Musk and even invoke the Defense Production Act to take control of SpaceX amidst escalating tensions.

Musk has yet to publicly respond to the allegations or the incident involving Bescent. The New York Times had previously reported that the two men had engaged in a heated exchange during that same April meeting.

During the meeting, both Musk and Bescent proposed various nominees and discussed leadership within the Internal Revenue Service, with the president ultimately backing Bescent’s selection.

Musk had earlier endorsed Howard Lutnick, the then-CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, for the Treasury role, but Trump decided to nominate Lutnick as Secretary of Commerce instead. Reports suggest that during the April meeting, Bescent was critical of Musk’s ambitious goals for cutting government spending.