Lawmakers and policy shops have largely moved on from the shock of Kamala Harris’s defeat and are preparing for Donald Trump’s return to the city in January.
Joe Biden was among those who seemed to have made peace with the outcome over the past few days. Now firmly in the “lame duck” stage of his presidency, the president spent the weekend in South America, participating in the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Meanwhile, the race to fill Trump’s remaining Cabinet positions fell under the shadow of the newest member of the president-elect’s entourage: Elon Musk.
The Twitter/X CEO — who now travels with Trump frequently and hangs around Mar-a-Lago when not — is using his massive platform and his access to the president-elect in an attempt to shape the incoming administration.
On Saturday, his latest effort took form as he endorsed Howard Lutnick, Trump’s transition team co-chair, for the position of Treasury Secretary. Lutnick’s key competitor for the job, Scott Bessent, had auditioned for the job just a day prior. That makes the timing of Musk’s endorsement look extremely convenient.
And there’s more. CNN reports Musk has been “weighing in on staffing decisions – making clear his preference for certain roles”. And Axios reported on Monday about a blow-up between Musk and Boris Epshteyn, one of the president-elect’s longtime close advisers. According to the news outlet, Musk angrily accused the Trump loyalist of leaking to the media about other Cabinet nominations and accused Epshteyn of having too much influence over Trump. What was described as a “huge explosion” played out in front of Mar-a-Lago guests and club members, according to the report.
Epshteyn isn’t saying a word publicly on the matter, and declined to comment when asked by The Independent about it. His silence comes as other Republican insiders say that talking to the press has been strongly discouraged among those jockeying for government positions in Trumpworld.
A number of Trump’s Cabinet positions remain open besides Treasury, which is one of the biggest remaining prizes. Others include the department heads at Education, Commerce, Labor and HUD, as well as Trump’s new chief trade representative.
There are still opportunities for Trump to cause serious disruption with his imminent picks. Many are eyeing the Education Department to see whether the president-elect will install someone who believes it should be abolished — someone like Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice, one of the candidates seen in the running. Her organization has led the purges of LGBTQ+ books and other materials from school libraries, enraging progressives and some free speech advocates.
Commerce, on the other hand, is likely to be one of his least controversial picks. The president-elect is reported to be leaning towards Linda McMahon, former CEO of WWE, to lead the department; McMahon served as the head of his Small Business Administration without scandal during his first presidency.
One big question concerns Trump’s pick for the Federal Trade Commission. He’s widely expected to fire Lina Khan, the Biden appointee (who has made an enemy of Musk), but her work has won some allies in Trump’s inner circle, including JD Vance. Her replacement may well follow in her footsteps.
There are signs, too, that Elon Musk’s influence in Trump’s inner circle may be far from ironclad. A pair of articles over Sunday and Monday from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal indicated that Musk’s endorsement of Lutnick only served to reinforce Trump’s discomfort with Lutnick’s heavy-handed lobbying for the nomination, and revealed that two new candidates had entered consideration for the job: former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh and Apollo Global Management chief executive Marc Rowan.
Other reports have indicated that Trump’s inner circle is increasingly growing frustrated with Musk’s weaseling his way into MAGAworld to the point where he was ordained as having made “uncle status” by Kai Trump, Donald Trump Jr.’s daughter. Musk’s presence at Mar-a-Lago, typically dining with Trump or joining the president-elect on golfing excursions, has worn thin on high-ranking aides. Even Trump himself has joked about Musk latching on to his re-election campaign and post-election transition.
“He likes this place. I can’t get him out of here. He just likes this place,” Trump quipped last week. “And you know what? I like having him here, too.”
The Tesla chief is still expected to lead the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” under Trump’s second presidency, which is likely to just be a White House advisory council with a fancy title.
But if Musk keeps on making enemies, his access to the president-elect may end up like one of his rockets — exploding before it ever leaves the launchpad.
