Elon Musk black eye sparks rumor over Stephen Miller's wife as she quits Trump admin for DOGE

Daily Mail​

a day ago

Elon Musk 's dramatic appearance at the White House on Friday, sporting a visible black eye, has ignited a frenzy of speculation just as Stephen Miller's wife, Katie Miller, announced her departure from the Trump administration to join Musk's growing enterprise.
The tech billionaire, wrapping up his 130-day stint in President Donald Trump 's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), brushed off the injury, blaming it on playful roughhousing with his young son.
But online observers weren't buying the casual explanation, especially as political chatter focused on Stephen Miller's apparent frustration over his wife's high-profile career move.
In a spectacle that stunned the White House press corps and set social media ablaze, Musk appeared subdued, trading his usual swagger for a quiet exit marked by whispers of tension and a cloud of rumors.
The 53-year-old SpaceX and Tesla CEO tried to laugh off the situation. 'I've got a little shiner here,' Musk quipped after President Trump fielded a question about the French first lady slapping her husband, Emmanuel Macron.
'I wasn't anywhere near France,' Musk joked. 'I was just horsing around with Little X, and I said, "Go ahead, punch me in the face," and he did.'
The laughter that followed did little to tamp down the flurry of speculation already brewing online.
Photos taken earlier in the week showed the unmistakable bruise under Musk's right eye during a SpaceX presentation outlining plans to colonize Mars.
When asked whether it would be easier to build a Martian colony or streamline the US government, Musk answered dryly, 'It's a tough call, but I think colonizing Mars is harder.'
It's not the first time Musk has allegedly been involved in a West Wing fracas after former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon told DailyMail.com that there was an incident when he physically 'shoved' 62-year-old Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after he was confronted over wild promises to save the administration 'a trillion dollars'.
'Scott Bessent called him out and said, 'You promised us a trillion dollars (in cuts), and now you're at like $100 billion, and nobody can find anything, what are you doing?'' the prominent MAGA figure revealed.
'And that's when Elon got physical. It's a sore subject with him. It wasn't an argument, it was a physical confrontation. Elon basically shoved him.'
But this time it wasn't the punchline that caught the public's attention but the punch.
Social media sleuths immediately launched into high gear. 'What happened to Elon, appears he has a black eye on his right,' one user speculated.
Another chimed in: 'Yoo did Elon Musk get straight up punched in the face? That's a left hook black eye if I've ever seen one. Might explain his delayed talk?'
One particularly incendiary post on X fanned the flames further. 'This is a black eye delivered by someone who can't throw a punch,' the user wrote, suggesting it could be Stephen Miller who was responsible. 'Probably unrelated. Also, he's left-handed.'
Some claimed that Miller might be upset because his wife was now working for Musk.
Democrats, usually starved for headlines these days, were quick to pile on.
The official X account of the Democratic Party posted a picture of an empty hotel chair tagged simply with Stephen Miller's handle in a cheeky nod to the latest rumor gripping Washington.
According to multiple reports, Katie Miller, a senior DOGE adviser and spokesperson, is exiting the Trump administration alongside Musk and will reportedly join his growing business empire full-time.
Musk called Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act a 'disappointment' because it 'undermined' the work he did at DOGE. The same day, Stephen Miller posted the above tweet to X
Her next role remains unconfirmed, but insiders say she is expected to work closely on Musk's federal policy initiatives and technology projects.
Adding even more fuel, Miller was spotted in the Oval Office on Friday, standing silently by as Musk delivered farewell remarks.
Trump grinned broadly as he awarded Musk a ceremonial 'Key to the White House,' similar to one he had previously given to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
'This is not the end of DOGE,' Musk promised during his sendoff. 'Only the beginning. The DOGE team will only grow stronger over time.'
Miller, as White House Deputy Chief of Staff and one of Trump's most loyal allies, has reportedly been privately fuming.
Sources close to the matter suggest Miller is 'deeply displeased' with Musk's recent public criticisms of Trump's massive 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' the $1.5 trillion legislative package aimed at slashing government waste - or at least appearing to.
In a CBS News interview earlier this week, Musk slammed the bill as 'disappointing' and claimed it ' undermines the work of DOGE and balloons the deficit.'
Miller fired back on X, arguing that Senate rules made it impossible to cut discretionary spending significantly and accusing the Congressional Budget Office of using 'accounting gimmicks' to inflate deficit projections.
While Miller praised DOGE's efforts in a separate post, insiders say his frustration with Musk has only grown, especially now that his wife is to work for Musk full-time.
Others close to the Millers insist that Katie's move is strictly professional, noting that both she and her husband have long had close ties to Musk's initiatives.
Before joining DOGE, both Millers worked in the Trump administration's first term, where they met and eventually married.
Katie Miller, who has not publicly commented on her departure, has been active on X reposting updates about Musk's companies and ventures - a move some see as a clear signal of her next professional chapter.