Musk and Bessent Clash in West Wing Shouting Match Over IRS Pick

On April 23, 2025, reporting revealed that Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had engaged in a heated shouting match inside the White House, audible to President Trump, other officials, and a visiting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The dispute stemmed from a fight over who would lead the IRS: Trump had named Musk's pick, Gary Shapley, as acting commissioner, while Bessent backed his own deputy, Michael Faulkender.

Witnesses described the confrontation as unusually personal, with Musk calling Bessent a "Soros agent" running