Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has ‘no business’ conducting affairs at the Pentagon, amid reports Musk would receive secret information from top military officials Friday about military contingency plans should a war break out with China.  

While The New York Times reported that Musk was set to receive military plans about any potential China conflict, the Pentagon and White House pushed back and said Musk’s briefing wouldn’t cover China. 

‘Elon Musk is an unelected, self-interested billionaire with no business anywhere near the Pentagon,’ Gillibrand said in an X post Friday morning with a photo of the Times story, just after Musk arrived at the Pentagon. Gillibrand is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

The possibility of Musk receiving information on China raises a possible conflict of interest, given the fact that Musk has financial interests in China stemming from Tesla, and SpaceX is working with the U.S. federal government on military space capabilities. 

However, the Trump administration swiftly pushed back on the Times’ reporting, and Trump issued a post on social media discrediting the story as ‘completely untrue.’

‘They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China.’ How ridiculous?’ China will not even be mentioned or discussed,’ President Donald Trump said in a Thursday night Truth Social post. 

A former Obama administration official also sounded the alarm about Musk’s visit to the Pentagon. 

Xochitl Hinojosa, who previously served as a spokesperson for former Attorney General Eric Holder and communications director for the Democratic National Committee, said that career officials must have disclosed the information about the meeting to the press because they were concerned about what would be shared with Musk. 

‘What is happening here, and everyone needs to be scared, is Pentagon officials are sounding the alarm,’ Hinojosa said in an interview with CNN Thursday night. ‘This doesn’t just happen on its own. This has happened because career officials in the Pentagon are terrified. And they believe there is a conflict of interest. That is why it is in the New York Times. Because I am sure they took it to the senior most people within the White House and within the Pentagon and they didn’t do anything about it.’

Hinojosa said that during her time at the Justice Department, career officials would sound the alarm if they became aware of any unethical behavior at the agency. 

‘That is exactly what is happening here,’ Hinojosa said. 

Hinojosa could not be reached for comment by Fox News Digital. 

The New York Times published a story Thursday evening claiming that Musk’s visit to the Pentagon would involve discussing plans in the event of a potential war with China. Specifically, the Times reported that the briefing involved a presentation with 20 to 30 slides on how the U.S. would combat China, various Chinese targets to strike and how the Pentagon would share these plans with Trump. 

The Times also reported the meeting would occur in the so-called Tank, a secure conference room that the Joint Chiefs utilize for meetings, along with other senior staff and visiting combatant commanders. 

Meanwhile, the Times report also noted that Musk may have needed to know information about plans for China as he eyes cutting the Pentagon’s budget amid his efforts leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

Pentagon war plans are highly confidential for operational security purposes. Should details regarding the U.S. military’s strategy to combat an enemy be shared or leaked in any way, it would jeopardize U.S. forces and undermine the success of the military campaign.

Hegseth also weighed in on the matter, and said the meeting with Musk would primarily center around innovation. 

‘But the fake news delivers again — this is NOT a meeting about ‘top secret China war plans.’ It’s an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production. Gonna be great!’ Hegseth said in a post on X late Thursday evening. 

In response to Hegseth’s post, Musk responded: ‘Exactly. Also, I’ve been to the Pentagon many times over many years. Not my first time in the building.’ 

Musk also said in a separate post he looks ‘forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. 

‘They will be found,’ he said. 

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

President Donald Trump said he’s not interested in showing ‘anybody’ plans for how the U.S. would navigate a conflict with China after a New York Times report that SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s meeting at the Pentagon Friday included details about contingency plans for any war with Beijing. 

Trump told reporters Friday that Musk met with Pentagon officials to discuss initiatives relating to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that Musk is spearheading. 

‘We don’t want to have a potential war with China,’ Trump said at the Oval Office Friday. ‘But I can tell you if we did, we’re very well-equipped to handle it. But I don’t want to show that to anybody. But, certainly, you wouldn’t show it to a businessman who is helping us so much. He’s a great patriot. He’s taken a big price for helping us cut costs, and he’s doing a great job.’

Musk and China could be a conflict of interest, given Tesla’s business dealings with China and SpaceX’s relationship with the Pentagon on military space capabilities. And an adversary like China learning details about the U.S. military’s war plans could put national security at risk and undermine U.S. forces. 

But Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Musk’s meeting at the Pentagon centered around DOGE, innovation and other ways to advance efficiency, not China. 

‘There was no war plans. There was no Chinese war plans,’ Hegseth said at the White House Friday. ‘There was no secret plans. That’s not what we were doing at the Pentagon.’ 

Hegseth also announced plans Thursday to cancel more than $580 million in Department of Defense contracts, following recommendations from DOGE. 

The New York Times reported Thursday evening that Musk’s Pentagon briefing would involve a presentation with 20–30 slides on how the U.S. would combat China, various Chinese targets to strike and how the Pentagon would share these plans with Trump. 

The Times also reported the meeting would take place in the so-called Tank, a secure conference room reserved for the joint chiefs, senior staff and visiting combatant commanders. 

The Times report said details on China could have been shared with Musk amid his efforts leading DOGE and possible cuts to the Department of Defense. 

The White House referred Fox News Digital to Trump’s remarks when asked for comment about the nature of Musk’s briefing. 

Trump and Hegseth pushed back on the report Thursday, with Trump describing the report as ‘completely untrue.’ Hegseth also said in a post on X the meeting with Musk would primarily touch on innovation. 

In response to Hegseth’s post, Musk responded, ‘Exactly. Also, I’ve been to the Pentagon many times over many years. Not my first time in the building.’ 

Musk also said in a separate post he looks ‘forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT.’  

‘They will be found,’ he said. 

As top U.S. officials prepare for a meeting with a Russian delegation in Saudia Arabia Sunday, questions have mounted over how the Trump administration will push Moscow to extend a preliminary ceasefire. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin this week agreed to temporarily halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which includes Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who will both travel to Jeddah for the negotiations, said the next step will be to secure a ceasefire over the Black Sea.

Moscow had previously agreed to a similar deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in 2022, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which attempted to secure Ukrainian exports of agricultural products to control global prices, but Putin pulled out of the agreement in 2023. 

Security experts remain unconvinced that Putin can be trusted this time around.

But there is another issue that apparently will be on the negotiating table in the Middle East — Ukraine’s nuclear power. 

As the president’s focus on a mineral deal with Ukraine appears to have diminished, he has turned his interest to a new business venture, U.S. ‘ownership’ of Kyiv’s ‘electrical supply and nuclear power plants.’

‘American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure,’ a joint statement released by Rubio and Waltz said after Trump’s phone call Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

When asked by Fox News Digital how Putin, who has made his interest in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant clear, will respond to Trump’s new ambitions, Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer and author of ‘Putin’s Playbook,’ said she does not think it will go over well. 

‘Putin almost certainly is not in favor of this idea and will attempt to sabotage such a deal,’ said Koffler, who briefed NATO officials of Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine years before the 2022 invasion. ‘Moreover, Zelenskyy is unlikely to sign off on such a deal also.

‘Zelenskyy would likely agree to cede control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the U.S., which is currently under Russian control. The Russians will not voluntarily give up control of Zaporizhzhia. If someone tries to take it over by force, they will fight to the bitter end.’

It is unclear when Trump’s interest in acquiring Ukraine’s energy infrastructure began, though it appears to tie into his previous assertions that Ukraine will be better protected if it has American workers and businesses operating within its borders. 

The basis of this argument has been debated because there were, and remain, American companies operating in Ukraine during Russia’s invasion. The debate contributed to an Oval Office blowup between Trump and Zelenskyy last month. 

Koffler said Putin could view a U.S. takeover of Kyiv’s four nuclear power plants as a ‘backdoor way’ for the U.S. to extend some security guarantees for Ukraine and a ‘clever way of controlling Ukraine’s nuclear capability, which the Russians believe can be militarized.’

‘It would be viewed as a threat to Russia,’ Koffler said.

When asked how U.S. ownership of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure could affect negotiations, former CIA Moscow station chief Dan Hoffman told Fox News Digital he is not convinced it will have much of an effect on actually securing peace. 

‘Show me the deal. We don’t have a deal yet. We have a ceasefire that’s been broken on energy infrastructure,’ Hoffman pointed out. He noted that even after Putin agreed to stop attacking Ukraine’s infrastructure on Tuesday, the following morning a drone strike hit a railway power system in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which led to civilian power outages. 

‘It’s just another discussion point. There are so many other issues that are of far greater importance. What Putin would probably do for his negotiating strategy is to say, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll let you do that United States of America, but I want this in return’. It’s always going to be that way,’ Hoffman added, reflecting on his own negotiations with Russian counterparts during his time with the CIA.

‘He wants Ukraine. He wants to topple the government. That’s his objective,’ Hoffman added. ‘Whatever deals he agrees to in the short term, what he really wants to do is destroy Ukraine’s ability to deter Russia in the future and to give Russia maximum advantage. 

‘Right now, he can gain through negotiation what he can’t gain on the battlefield.’ 

While a number of issues will be discussed, the former CIA Moscow station chief said the real key in accomplishing any kind of ceasefire will need to be an authentic signal from Putin that he actually wants the war to end.

‘The big question that John Ratcliffe has to answer is explain to me why Putin wants a ceasefire. I would argue he doesn’t,’ Hoffman said in reference to the director of the CIA. ‘There is zero indication that he wants one.

‘If he wanted to stop the war and stop the killing of his own people and stop spilling so much blood and treasure, he would have stopped it,’ Hoffman argued.

Ultimately, Hoffman said, when looking at how most major wars have concluded, history suggests the war in Ukraine can only truly end on the battlefield.

‘One side loses, one side wins, or both sides don’t have the means to fight anymore,’ Hoffman said. ‘That’s how the wars end.’

Dozens of Tesla vehicles were damaged at a dealership in Ontario, Canada, Hamilton Police Service (HPS) confirmed to Fox News Digital. Authorities said that the incident occurred overnight on March 18, and that the ‘damage included deep scratches and punctured tires.’

HPS told Fox News Digital that officers are still working on getting footage from the Tesla vehicles as, ‘some vehicle camera systems were recording during the mischief incident.’ They were also able to obtain ‘limited’ footage from the area. As of Saturday, it was still too early in the investigation for HPS to determine a motive or how many people were involved. HPS said they do not have any suspects.

The night before this incident, police in London, Ontario, were reportedly called to the scene of a fire that is allegedly being investigated as suspicious. On March 17, a Tesla was set on fire, causing an estimated $140,000 in damage, London Police Service said in a press release.

Vandalism and attacks on Tesla vehicles and dealerships have been on the rise over the last few weeks. Many of the attacks appear to be politically motivated acts against Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk due to his work with the Department of Government Efficiency.

The Trump administration began cracking down on Tesla vandals earlier this week, with Attorney General Pam Bondi saying the string of attacks was ‘nothing short of domestic terrorism.’ She vowed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would ‘continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks.’

On Thursday, the DOJ announced that three individuals were charged in connection with the ‘violent destruction of Tesla properties.’ The defendants face charges that carry a minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, but could face up to 20 years behind bars.

‘The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,’ Bondi said in a DOJ statement. ‘Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.’

On Friday, President Donald Trump floated the idea of Tesla vandals serving time in El Salvadorian prisons in a post on Truth Social.

‘I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla,’ Trump wrote. ‘Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!’

Since January 2025, Tesla vehicles have been targeted in at least nine states, according to the FBI. The bureau has urged the public to ‘exercise vigilance’ near Tesla properties.

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump revoked the security clearances of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Liz Cheney and several other opponents who either severely criticized or acted against him.

The White House released a memo on Friday that read: ‘I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information:  Antony Blinken, Jacob Sullivan, Lisa Monaco, Mark Zaid, Norman Eisen, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, Andrew Weissmann, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Cheney, Kamala Harris, Adam Kinzinger, Fiona Hill, Alexander Vindman, Joseph R. Biden Jr., and any other member of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s family.’

Earlier this month, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced that she had revoked the security clearances of several people listed in Trump’s memo and blocked them from having access to classified information. She said ‘the 51 signers of the Hunter Biden ‘disinformation’ letter’ also had their clearances rescinded.

‘The President’s Daily Brief is no longer being provided to former President Biden.’

In addition to having their security clearances revoked, the individuals listed in Trump’s memorandum have had their ‘unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities’ rescinded.

Several people listed in Trump’s memo mostly dismissed it in social media posts reacting to the news. Both Zaid and Eisen said it was ‘like the third time’ their security clearances were revoked. Kinzinger posted a video saying that he ‘retired a year ago from the military’ and doesn’t have a clearance before calling the president a ‘dumba–.’

The security clearance memo comes just days after Trump announced that he was stripping Hunter and Ashley Biden of their Secret Service protection.

‘Hunter Biden has had Secret Service protection for an extended period of time, all paid for by the United States Taxpayer. There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection. Likewise, Ashley Biden who has 13 agents will be taken off the list.’

While under federal law, former presidents and their spouses receive life-long Secret Service protection, but that protection ends for members of their immediate family when they leave office. According to the Associated Press, both Trump and Biden extended protection for their children before leaving office.