Elon Musk, senior Trump adviser have ‘massive blow up’ over cabinet picks
Nov 18, 2024
Elon Musk had a “massive blow up” with a top aide for President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago because the pair reportedly disagreed on cabinet appointments.
Musk, believed to have spent around $120 million to get Trump elected, engaged the incoming president’s longtime advisor Boris Epshteyn in a “huge explosion” last week, according to Axios.
Boris Epshteyn, adviser to former President Donald Trump, returns to the courtroom after a break during Trump’s hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, May 20, 2024. (Photo by MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Musk reportedly accused Epshteyn of leaking information about Trump’s personnel choices to the press. Epshteyn, who’s one of Trump’s criminal defense lawyers, reportedly told Musk he had no idea what the billionaire MAGA surrogate was talking about.
Trump’s controversial picks so far have included Fox News host Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense, conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head Health and Human Services and embattled former congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general. Musk has publicly expressed support for Trump’s choices.
The House Ethics committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to discuss releasing a report on Gaetz that’s believed to contain allegations about the former representative and the trafficking of teenage girls for sex. Gaetz resigned from the House of Representatives after being nominated to Trump’s cabinet.
Tensions between Epshteyn and Musk have been building since Trump won the Nov. 5 election, according to Axios. Epshteyn worked on all three of Trump’s presidential campaigns.
Musk, along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has been tasked with running a newly created Department of Government Efficiency for the Trump Administration.