I’m really not a fan of posting this kind of intrigue within the Trump camp ahead of his new administration, but I do believe this is worth reporting.
Axios writes this morning that Elon Musk confronted a longtime top Trump advisor, Boris Epshteyn, over of leaking details of President Trump’s transition which included personnel picks:
🚨🚨Musk, top Trump adviser clash over Cabinet picks- In a “massive blowup,” 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.…— Jim VandeHei (@JimVandeHei) November 18, 2024
Here’s more:
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.
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.
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.
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.”
I checked out Elon’s post this weekend about Howard Lutnick and Scott Bessent and there is agreement and pushback on Lutnick over Bessent.
But with Musk going after Epshteyn, I find some people are quite happy to learn that Musk confronted him. For example…
Elon out here trying to save the Republic. If there’s one guy in America I trust to know how to hire brilliant, competent people—who can identify the guys who can do the work and who can’t—it’s Elon. https://t.co/xOTRuGyWak
— David Reaboi, Late Republic Nonsense (@davereaboi) November 18, 2024
If Musk isn’t happy with Epshteyn pushing the Matt Gaetz pick, which already seems dead on arrival in the Senate, then maybe he’s got a point about Epshteyn having too much influence. Perhaps Musk sees himself as more of a reformer in both the administration and Trump’s inner circle of advisors.
