Elon Musk will visit the Pentagon on Friday, President Trump and senior administration members confirmed while denying reports that he'll be briefed on a potential war with China. Why it matters: Some lawmakers and ethics experts have raised conflicts of interest concerns about Musk's role as senior adviser to the president while his companies hold substantial government contracts — in particular SpaceX,

The meeting with Musk was initiated by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to a U.S. official. But Hegseth and President Donald Trump denied that the focus would be on China.

Planning for a war with China has dominated Pentagon thinking for decades, well before a possible confrontation with Beijing became more conventional wisdom on Capitol Hill. The United States has built its Air Forces, Navy and Space Forces — and even more recently its Marines and Army forces — with a possible fight against China in mind.