White House Praises ‘Healthy Debate’ After Reports Of Elon Musk, Scott Bessent Screaming Match

The White House praised “healthy debate” after multiple outlets reported a shouting match between tech billionaire Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week.

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

On April 16, Trump named the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service as Gary Shapley, Musk’s pick for the role. Shapley is a former IRS supervisor who is known as a whistleblower in the Hunter Biden tax investigation in 2023.

On April 17, Musk and Bessent reportedly argued over who they wanted in the IRS role.

Then, on April 18, Trump ousted Shapley. The role now belongs to Bessent’s deputy, Michael Faulkender.

The New York Times reported that there was a “power struggle” between Bessent and Musk ahead of Trump replacing Shapley with Faulkender. Musk went over Bessent’s head to get Shapley in the role, even though Bessent oversees the IRS in his capacity as Treasury Secretary, a source told the Times.

Then on Wednesday, Axios cited multiple witnesses that the alleged power struggle was actually a screaming match, during which one said “the F bombs started to fly.”

“It was two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing,” one person told Axios about the dispute between Musk and Bessent.

“They were not physical in the Oval, but the president saw it, and then they carried it down the hall, and that’s when they did it again,” another person told Axios.

“It was quite a scene. It was loud. And I mean, loud,” a third witness described.

The New York Post also reported on the argument on Wednesday, with one source close to the White House telling the outlet, “Elon was shouting and rambling and Scott just wasn’t putting up with it.”

In a statement to the New York Times last week, Leavitt didn’t directly address the details of Musk and Bessent’s disagreement. Her statement on Wednesday mirrored what she said previously.

“It’s no secret President Trump has put together a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country,” she said, according to the outlet.

“Disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process,” Leavitt continued. “And ultimately, everyone knows they serve at the pleasure of President Trump.”

Musk has also clashed with other Trump administration members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

The Treasury Department, Musk and the White House did not, respectively, immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.