Musk, top Trump adviser clash over Cabinet picks
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President-elect Trump and Elon Musk talk ring side during a UFC event at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Photo: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Elon Musk has quickly become an influential figure in President-elect Trump's inner circle, but there are signs of tension between Musk and a longtime Trump adviser over Cabinet appointments to the new administration.
Why it matters: The friction between Musk and Boris Epshteyn — a top adviser who's pushed for Cabinet picks that include Matt Gaetz for attorney general — surfaced in public last week. It signaled a rivalry stemming from Musk's growing influence on the president-elect, to the dismay of some Trump loyalists.
- Musk — who fueled Trump's election effort by giving at least $119 million — has questioned whether Epshteyn has had too much influence in Trump's selections, especially his top Justice Department picks and the White House counsel, three people familiar with the conversations told Axios.
- At the same time, Musk has begun to push for his own Cabinet favorites.
- Epshteyn has bristled at Musk's questioning the qualifications of Epshteyn's favored candidates, two of the sources said.
Zoom in: Their rocky relationship came to a head last Wednesday during a heated discussion at a dinner table in front of other guests at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, three people familiar with the episode told Axios.
- At one point during what the sources described as a "massive blowup" and a "huge explosion," Musk accused Epshteyn of leaking details of Trump's transition — including personnel picks — to the media.
- Epshteyn responded by telling Musk that he didn't know what he was talking about.
Zoom out: The rift between Musk and Epshteyn wasn't a surprise to Trump senior staffers and confidants who've seen tensions between them bubble up during the transition meetings at Mar-a-Lago that began shortly after the Nov. 5 election.
- Epshteyn — who coordinated the legal defense in Trump's criminal cases — was a big influence in Trump's presidential appointments last week.
- Those appointments included Gaetz as attorney general and William McGinley as White House counsel. Trump's criminal lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, were appointed to top Justice Department posts.
Musk, meanwhile, is making a late push for Trump transition co-chair Howard Lutnick to be chosen for Treasury secretary instead of fund manager Scott Bessent, a Wall Street favorite who met with Trump in Florida on Friday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- "Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas (Lutnick) will actually enact change," Musk posted on his X platform. "Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt."
State of play: Many people in Trump's orbit like having Musk around, or have found ways to work with him. Musk is well-liked by Vice President-elect JD Vance, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and Trump's family members, including his sons Don Jr. and Eric.
- Trump's granddaughter, Kai Trump, even posted that Musk had reached "uncle status" along with a photo of Kai, Musk and Musk's son on a golf course.
- But Musk's involvement in the transition process and near-constant presence at Mar-a-Lago has begun to wear on some who've been in Trump's inner circle longer than he has — and who see him as overstepping his role in the transition, NBC reported this week.
The president-elect included Musk on a recent call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- Musk also plans to work with Republican businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate, to cut a massive $2 trillion in federal spending from their perch as leaders of a non-governmental "Department of Government Efficiency."
What they're saying: Epshteyn referred Axios to Trump's transition team for comment.
- The transition team did not comment. Musk didn't respond to a request for comment.
