Elon Musk's 130-day tenure in government has concluded amid significant conflict and isolation, especially highlighted by a heated altercation with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding IRS leadership. Musk's aggressive push for bureaucratic reform, aiming to save taxpayers $2 trillion, led to tensions with agency heads. While he initially presented himself as a disruptor committed to dismantling governmental inefficiencies, his failure to collaborate and build alliances ultimately left him at odds with many officials. Musk's time in Washington reflects both his ambitious goals and the challenges of effecting change in such a complex environment.
Without securing the Treasury chief's sign-off, Musk had pushed through his own pick for the job.
Musk accused Bessent of having run two failed hedge funds. 'I can't hear you,' he told Bessent as they argued, their faces just inches apart.
As Musk winds down his official time in Washington, he has found himself isolated within the upper reaches of the Trump administration.
Musk came to Washington all Cybertrucks and chain saws, ready to destroy the bureaucracy, fire do-nothing federal workers, and, he bragged, save taxpayers $2 trillion.
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