Two weeks after Elon Musk’s extremely public falling out with President Donald Trump, the billionaire Tesla CEO reignited his war of words with the administration — this time going after a “snake” presidential aide who spurred the feud.
Musk left his role at the White House in late May, after months of leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency which aimed to slash federal spending. Within days of his departure, Musk and Trump were trading vicious barbs on social media. Musk later walked back some of his most damning accusations, while Trump has also sought to downplay the feud.
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But it appears Musk is not done burning bridges.
The X owner’s latest attack came after the New York Post reported that Trump personnel director Sergio Gor hasn’t submitted the necessary paperwork to acquire permanent security clearance, despite his role vetting thousands of executive branch staffers.
New York Times reporter Peter Baker posted the story on X on Wednesday, prompting Musk’s blunt reply: “He’s a snake.”
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The White House has pushed back on the New York Post’s reporting.
“Mr. Gor is fully compliant with all applicable ethical and legal obligations. His security clearance is active, any insinuation he doesn’t maintain a clearance is false,” White House counsel David Warrington said in a statement provided to HuffPost.
Gor is a longtime Republican operative who co-founded a publishing company with Donald Trump Jr. and led a pro-Trump super PAC that supported the president’s 2024 campaign. He has largely remained out of the spotlight despite his influential role staffing the administration with Trump loyalists.
Tensions between Musk and Gor escalated after a tense Cabinet meeting in March, during which Musk reportedly “humiliated” Gor for not hiring quickly enough for key roles in the administration.
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The relationship took a further downward turn in early June when Gor allegedly played a key role in Trump pulling entrepreneur Jason Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA, just days after Musk left his White House post. (Musk had pressed for Isaacman to get the job.) As Politico notes, Musk’s social media attacks on Trump and his “Big Beautiful” budget bill started shortly after Isaacman’s nomination was axed.
“The NASA guy was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” a Trump administration source told the New York Post at the time.
When reached for comment about Musk’s comment on Gor, a White House official said the personnel director “helped Elon Musk install many DOGE employees at agencies to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.”
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