Former Trump strategist and War Room host Steve Bannon claimed this week that tech billionaire Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent literally came to blows inside the White House over a heated disagreement regarding the future leadership of the IRS.
According to Bannon, the clash erupted just moments after both men exited the Oval Office in April following a tense meeting with President Trump about who should lead the IRS.
The dispute centered on Acting IRS Commissioner Gary Shapley—a key whistleblower in the Hunter Biden tax fraud cover-up—who had reportedly been installed at Musk’s request, bypassing Bessent’s approval entirely.
Gary Shapley, the whistleblower who came forward and exposed the political interference in the Hunter Biden tax fraud investigation, was named interim IRS Commissioner after Melanie Krause resigned.
Krause stepped down amid controversy over a data-sharing agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The New York Times reported that Bessent approached Trump and told him Shapley was put in his position at the IRS without his knowledge.
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt referred Axios to a previous statement to the New York Times: “It’s no secret President Trump has put together a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country.”
“Disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process,” her statement said. “And ultimately everyone knows they serve at the pleasure of President Trump,” Leavitt said.
But Bannon is now blowing the lid off what actually happened.
Far-left The Washington Post reported:
In mid-April, Musk and Bessent had gone into the Oval Office to make their respective cases about their preferences for acting IRS commissioner. Trump decided to support Bessent’s choice. That disagreement was first reported by the New York Times.
After Bessent and Musk exited the Oval Office and began walking down the hallway, the two men started to exchange insults, Bannon said, adding that Bessent brought up Musk’s claims that he would uncover more than $1 trillion in wasteful and fraudulent government spending, which Musk had not succeeded at doing.
“Scott said, ‘You’re a fraud. You’re a total fraud,’” Bannon said in an interview.
Musk then rammed his shoulder into Bessent’s rib cage “like a rugby player,” Bannon said, and Bessent hit him back. Multiple people stepped in to break up the scrum as the two men reached the national security adviser’s office, and Musk was shuffled out of the West Wing.
“President Trump heard about it and said, ‘This is too much,’” Bannon said.
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