Elon Musk’s backing of a Treasury secretary candidate causes strife

The Washington Post reported that Musk’s endorsement via social media of Howard Lutnick, who is co-leading the Trump transition team, could add confusion to the process. One adviser suggested to the Post that Musk was acting as a “co-president” and could be overstepping his advisory role with Trump.

The Trump transition team didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Musk on Saturday encouraged people on X to “weigh in” on who they thought should be Treasury secretary, then backed Lutnick over hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, saying “Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change.”

Bessent is more skeptical of cryptocurrencies than Lutnick, who has suggested people could use it to pay their taxes.

Musk played a significant role in Trump’s re-election, putting over $100 million of his own money into a political action committee focused on Trump and appearing at several rallies. However, his public push for Lutnick before Trump has made a decision caught many off guard.  

Despite the apparent unease of some Trump staffers with Musk’s actions, there is no evidence that any rift has formed between Musk and Trump themselves. Musk is still spending much of his time at Mar-a-Lago and traveled with Trump to New York Saturday to attend a UFC fight.

Whoever becomes Treasury secretary, Musk is likely to work somewhat closely with them as part of his duties with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE will work with the White House Office of Management and Budget to implement the recommendations of Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Musk has said previously he believes it is possible to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, though many have been skeptical of this figure.