Steve Bannon urges Trump to deport 'illegal alien' Elon Musk, asks POTUS to ‘seize’ SpaceX amid fallout

WASHINGTON, DC: Former White House official Steve Bannon urged President Donald Trump on Thursday, June 5, to deport tech billionaire Elon Musk "immediately" and "seize” his company SpaceX.

Bannon made the comments amid the war of words between the Tesla CEO and the POTUS. Trump hit back at Musk's escalating attacks by suggesting the multibillion-dollar government contracts of Musk be taken away. 

Steve Bannon asks Donald Trump to take control of SpaceX

Steve Bannon urged Donald Trump to immediately invoke the Defense Production Act to take control of SpaceX in response to Elon Musk's declaration that he would decommission the spacecraft used to shuttle astronauts back and forth from the International Space Station (ISS), according to the New York Post.

Bannon said on his 'War Room' podcast, "The action that President Trump should be taking immediately, I think, is when [Musk] threatens to take one of the big programs out of Space X, President Trump tonight should sign an executive order calling for the Defense Production Act to be called in on SpaceX and seize SpaceX tonight, before midnight."

Notably, the Defense Production Act, a Korean War-era provision, grants the POTUS the authority to require private companies to accept and prioritize government contracts for the production of goods needed for national defense, per the outlet.

It was invoked by Trump during his first term to compel businesses to make ventilators and test swabs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the Defense Production Act does not give presidents the power to seize private companies.

Steve Bannon demands a federal investigation into Elon Musk's immigration status

Steve Bannon also demanded a federal investigation into Elon Musk's immigration status. 

He told the New York Times, "They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status, because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately."

Trump’s former chief strategist added that the president's administration should also probe the SpaceX CEO's alleged drug use and his claims that Musk attempted to get a classified Pentagon briefing on China, per the outlet.

Bannon also advised that Musk’s security clearance should be suspended while the investigation is conducted. He added that the contracts his various companies have with the federal government should also be canceled.

The former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had a public falling out with the president over the latter's support of the "big, beautiful bill."

The split happened in real-time on social media and escalated after the POTUS told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he is "very disappointed" with Musk. 

The president said, "He knew every aspect of this bill. He knew it better than almost anybody, and he never had a problem until right after he left… He said the most beautiful things about me, and he hasn’t said bad about me personally, but I’m sure that’ll be next, but I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot," but the tech billionaire claimed that the bill was never shown to him and went on to say that Trump would have lost the election without him.