Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent scoffs at Musk’s new America Party — claims tech mogul isn’t popular enough to pull it off 

Ryan King / NEW YORK POST 

 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday threw shade at tech mogul Elon Musk’s bid to launch a new political party — sniping that the billionaire simply isn’t popular enough to pull it off.

Musk announced formal plans Saturday to start the America Party after clashing with President Trump and Republicans over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The deep-pocketed Tesla and SpaceX mogul teased that his new party will home in on a select few ultra-competitive races.

“Look, the principles of DOGE were very popular. I think if you looked at the polling, Elon was not,” Bessent told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Musk had been the driving force behind the Trump administration’s cost-cutting new Department of Government Efficiency before wrapping up his time as a special government employee in May — and famously falling out with the president. 

The billionaire guru has lamented that DOGE became a “whipping boy for everything.” More recently, he fussed that the debt impact of Trump’s megabill makes a “mockery of the work” done by his DOGE team to slash the deficit. Read more and see video here.

Operation Apex Hammer: Over 200 Criminals Arrested

Sarah Arnold / Townhall Tipsheet

In another triumph for the Trump administration, federal authorities have arrested hundreds of individuals in a sweeping joint operation in New Jersey aimed at restoring safety and accountability in communities across the nation. While politicians in blue states downplay crime brought into the U.S. through the southern border under previous administrations, this coordinated effort sends a clear message that under President Donald Trump, law enforcement won't stop until every dangerous offender is held accountable. 

According to U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos Jr. and Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, federal authorities arrested 264 criminals in a joint operation called "Operation Apex Hammer." It was described as being a “one-month statewide violent crime reduction initiative with federal, state, and local partners” working together to “identify and apprehend” gang members.