Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent got into a verbal confrontation within hearing distance of US President Donald Trump and other administration officials at the White House last week during an argument about the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two witnesses and three sources familiar with the incident.

"They were not physical in the Oval, but the president saw it, and then they carried it down the hall, and that's when they did it again," a witness said. Bessent criticized Musk for making unrealistic promises but under-delivering budget cuts with DOGE. Musk responded by labeling him a "Soros agent" and slamming Bessent for having run "a failed hedge fund."

The New York Times initially covered Friday that the billionaires had clashed over who would lead the IRS.