The walls of the West Wing have seen their fair share of history, from war councils to landmark legislation. But few incidents could have prepared the White House staff for the sheer spectacle that unfolded behind closed doors this past week.
According to multiple White House insiders and a stunning report first broken by Axios, Elon Musk and Scott Bessent—two of the Trump administration’s most prominent power players—descended into what one witness likened to a “World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)” bout in the very halls of the executive branch. The twist? Donald Trump himself stood just feet away as chaos erupted.
Sources within the administration claim the confrontation began with a heated verbal exchange between Musk, the billionaire tech mogul who has become an informal yet central figure in Trump’s second-term advisory circle, and Scott Bessent, the current Secretary of the Treasury. It is alleged that Musk and Bessent initially clashed during a policy meeting in the Oval Office before carrying their argument out into the hallway—where it turned into a shouting match laced with personal insults and explosive accusations.
“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,” one source told Axios. “It was two billionaires, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing.”
At one point, an aide had to physically step between the men, with profanities flying and reputations on the line.
The specific catalyst of the melee appears to stem from an internal battle over the controversial figure of Gary Shapley, a former IRS whistleblower beloved by conservative hardliners but viewed with deep skepticism by establishment Republicans. Shapley, who had accused the IRS of offering preferential treatment to Hunter Biden, was poised to be appointed as acting commissioner of the IRS at Musk’s recommendation.
Bessent, however, reportedly viewed the move as a direct affront to his authority and a dangerous politicization of the tax agency.
According to those close to the matter, Bessent had successfully lobbied President Trump to reverse the appointment, describing Musk’s actions as deceptive and unilateral. “Scott can’t stand Musk. That goes pretty deep and pretty far back,” one Bessent ally revealed. “But he’s acting like a grown-up about it. What surprises a lot of people is Scott is so mild-mannered. But he has his limits, and he can roar.”
Bessent’s anger, though atypical for his usually composed demeanor, reportedly boiled over during the now-infamous altercation, where he is said to have openly mocked Musk’s leadership of the Department for Government Efficiency—often referred to by insiders as “DOGE.” Musk, in turn, fired back by labeling the Treasury Secretary a “Soros agent,” a particularly pointed slur in today’s hyper-polarized political climate.
The bizarre altercation has sparked waves of commentary across Washington, with some seeing it as emblematic of the dysfunction at the heart of the Trump administration’s second term. Others, particularly Trump loyalists, have brushed it off as a passionate disagreement among powerful men devoted to their causes.
“It’s no secret President Trump has put together a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country,” said Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary, in a statement seeking to downplay the chaos.
Still, this is not the first time Musk has found himself embroiled in internecine battles within the Trump cabinet. Earlier this year, The Telegraph reported a similar confrontation involving Musk, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins.
That particular argument stemmed from sweeping DOGE-imposed budget cuts to both departments—cuts that Musk had reportedly championed. Even Secretary of State Marco Rubio is said to have privately voiced frustration with Musk’s growing influence over fiscal policy and governmental restructuring.
And the feud doesn’t end with Bessent. Musk has taken to his social media platform X to lambast other members of Trump’s economic team, including Peter Navarro, the former trade czar. After Navarro referred to Musk as merely a “car assembler,” the billionaire replied in kind, calling Navarro “dumber than a sack of bricks” and “truly a moron.”
Despite his combative style, Musk remains a central—if unofficial—architect of Trump’s sweeping efforts to slash government bureaucracy and re-engineer federal agencies for efficiency. His involvement with DOGE, a department created by Trump to streamline federal operations and eliminate redundancy, has given him unprecedented influence, even though he holds no formal title.
But that influence may be waning. Just days before the blow-up with Bessent, Tesla reported a devastating 71 percent drop in profits for the first quarter of 2025. The company also suffered a 9 percent revenue decline and saw its stock value plummet by over 40 percent in a matter of weeks.
Under mounting pressure from investors and facing increasing scrutiny for his political entanglements, Musk announced that he would be scaling back his involvement with DOGE and other government affairs to refocus on his flailing business empire.
The timing of the announcement, so close to the Bessent incident, has led some analysts to speculate that the Treasury Secretary’s outburst may have been a calculated move to further isolate Musk from policymaking decisions. Others argue it was simply the inevitable result of unchecked egos and diverging agendas finally reaching their breaking point.
Meanwhile, Trump’s reaction to the brawl remains characteristically opaque. While witnesses confirm he observed both the Oval Office exchange and the subsequent hallway confrontation, the president has yet to issue any public statement on the matter. Privately, aides say Trump was “entertained” by the showdown, even reportedly quipping that “it was the best damn show this place has seen since The Apprentice.”
As the dust settles, questions remain about the stability of Trump’s inner circle and the long-term viability of DOGE as a functioning body. For now, the billionaire brawl has become the latest symbol of a White House increasingly defined by power struggles, backroom feuds, and an atmosphere that more closely resembles a reality television set than the command center of the free world.
Yet in a political era where headlines are written faster than policies are passed, the Musk-Bessent spectacle may fade just as quickly as it erupted. Whether the incident becomes a footnote in the Trump administration or a turning point in the balance of power among its key figures will depend on what happens next.
For now, the West Wing bears the bruises—metaphorical and otherwise—of a fight no one saw coming but everyone is still talking about.
