Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he and Elon Musk were aligned in what they wanted to accomplish under President Donald Trump.
Musk left his role as head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) amid reports he argued with Bessent over the IRS.
Bessent, on New York Post columnist Miranda Devine's "Pod Force One" podcast released Wednesday, downplayed the alleged feud with Musk.
"We have had disagreements, but we both want to get to the same place," Bessent told Devine. "We both want to eliminate the waste, fraud, and abuse in government."
In April, The New York Times reported Bessent and Musk engaged in a power struggle, and Axios reported the two men got into a heated shouting match, in earshot of Trump and other White House officials, over who would lead the IRS.
The Washington Post reported that longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon was told Musk and Bessent had a heated exchange that led to a physical altercation.
Bessent said he and Musk had different styles: the Tesla and SpaceX CEO embodying Silicon Valley's "move quickly, break things" mindset while the secretary embraces a "move deliberately and fix things" approach.
"I think Elon probably fancies himself more of a Viking; I think I'm more of a ninja, sort of this submarine surfaces, fires, goes back under," Bessent told Devine. "Look, everybody's very passionate about doing the best for President Trump and the American people."
Bessent said that although Musk has left the government, the billionaire remains a force.
"I think of DOGE as an ethos and to the extent that Elon has departed physically, I think that ethos is there and the momentum for what he's done yield bigger and bigger savings over time," Bessent told Devine.
Musk stepped down from his DOGE role at the end of May. His opposition to the president's "big, beautiful" spending package then led to a public spat between him and Trump.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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