President Donald Trump reportedly canceled a top-secret briefing for Elon Musk after The New York Times revealed that Pentagon officials were preparing to brief the DOGE leader on potential U.S. war plans involving China.
According to Axios, Trump blocked the briefing due to concerns over Musk’s business ties in China. “What the f**k is Elon doing there?” Trump allegedly said, according to a source identified by Axios as a top official. “Make sure he doesn’t go.”
The unnamed official informed Axios that while Musk has not lost Trump’s support, the president wishes to establish certain boundaries—particularly regarding China.
“POTUS still very much loves Elon, but there are some red lines,” the official told Axios. “Elon has a lot of business in China and he has good relations there, and this briefing just wasn’t the right thing.”
When the Times report came out, Trump slammed it as more “fake news.”
“They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China,’” Trump wrote in a March 20 Truth Social post. “How ridiculous? China will not even be mentioned or discussed. How disgraceful it is that the discredited media can make up such lies. Anyway, the story is completely untrue!!!”
Axios reported, however, that the president did not make that statement until after the briefing had been cancelled.
The story comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suspended at least two top Pentagon officials, Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick, as part of the Defense Department’s efforts to locate and root out anyone engaged in leaking sensitive information to the press.
Reuters first reported that Dan Caldwell was suspended over an “unauthorized disclosure” of information, amid an ongoing investigation into leaks from within the Pentagon. A DOD official confirmed the report to Fox News Digital but declined to comment further due to the active investigation.
Caldwell, a foreign policy realist, previously worked with the restraint-oriented think tank Defense Priorities and Concerned Veterans for America, which was formerly led by Hegseth. He has been a vocal advocate for significantly reducing the U.S. military presence in Europe and withdrawing troops from Iraq and Syria.
In March, the Pentagon announced an effort to identify leakers from within the Defense Department regarding “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information.” The announcement said that the DoD would use polygraph exams to identify who was allegedly leaking sensitive or secret data, Fox News noted.
“The use of polygraphs in the execution of this investigation will be in accordance with applicable law and policy,” DOD Chief of Staff Joe Kasper wrote in a memo. “This investigation will commence immediately and culminate in a report to the Secretary of Defense.”
“The report will include a complete record of unauthorized disclosures within the Department of Defense and recommendations to improve such efforts,” the memo said.
NEW: Dan Caldwell, top advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, escorted out of the Pentagon after being identified in leaks probe – REU pic.twitter.com/yM22n6MS0E
— BNO News (@BNONews) April 15, 2025
The memo also noted that “information identifying a party responsible for an unauthorized disclosure” would be referred for criminal prosecution.
Caldwell’s close ties to Hegseth were highlighted in a leaked Signal chat about U.S. strikes on the Houthis, in which Hegseth identified him as the Pentagon’s point of contact for the operation. The private conversation was exposed after National Security Advisor Mike Waltz accidentally added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the group.
The Defense Department is the latest federal entity to announce the use of polygraphs to identify potential leakers, following similar moves by the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice.
The DOD directive came shortly after Trump dismissed a New York Times report claiming that Musk would be briefed on “war plans” for China.
