Elon Musk and Sergio Gor, who President Donald Trump declared as his pick for the subsequent US ambassador to India on Friday, were reportedly constantly at odds for months prior to Musk resigned from the Trump administration in May.
Musk had called Gor a 'snake' and his remarks emerged shortly after a New York Post report indicated that Gor, who is in charge of screening hundreds of executive-branch employees, hadn't finished his own background security clearance forms needed for a permanent clearance. The report further indicated Gor was operating on an interim clearance even as he handled top-level vetting work.
The White House, however, denied this vehemently, saying that Gor had presented all the paperwork and that his clearance was active.
"He's a snake," Musk tweeted in reply to an X post that included a link to the New York Post report on Gor.
The Hill reported that Musk and Gor had altercations, including at Cabinet meetings, where Musk "chastised" Gor for disagreements on personnel.
A friend of Musk, Jared Isaacman, was nominated to be at the helm of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration but had the nomination withdrawn on the eve of the confirmation vote.
The sources indicate that Gor presented Trump with a background report on Isaacman, mentioning his previous donations to the Democratic cause, which prompted the withdrawal of the nomination. This act is said to have further upset Musk.
A White House official informed The Hill that the decision whether or not to withdraw Isaacman's nomination was up to the president.
Elon Musk resigned from his position as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), dedicated to lowering federal expenses, because he had attained the maximum term allowable for a special government adviser in May.
His departure followed a highly publicized conflict with Trump, sparked by the administration’s key tax-and-spending budget bill, which passed the Republican-led House of Representatives on May 22 by a single vote.
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