Washington Edition

Musk’s Presence Intrudes Even When He’s Not in the Room

This is Washington Edition, the newsletter about money, power and politics in the nation’s capital. Every Friday, White House correspondent Akayla Gardner delivers a roundup of the key news and events in politics, policy and economics that you need to know. Sign up here and follow us at @bpolitics. Email our editors here.

Elon Musk wasn’t in the Oval Office today when President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Boeing won the big contract to build the nation’s next high-tech fighter jet.