Elon Musk Slams Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' After Leaving The Administration: 'A Disgusting Abomination'

Int'l Business Times

2 days ago

Billionaire Elon Musk again slammed President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" spending and tax bill on Tuesday, claiming it will "burden" the country with "crushingly unsustainable debt."
"I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it," Musk said in a publication in his social media platform, X.
Musk, who recently departed from his role at the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency(DOGE), has repeatedly criticized the bill, arguing it would "balloon the deficit." He also criticized its lack of focus on clean energy and sustainable tech.
"I actually thought that, when this 'big, beautiful bill' came along, it'd be like, everything he's done on DOGE gets wiped out in the first year," Musk said in a recent interview on CBS News. "I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful ... But I don't know if it could be both. My personal opinion."
The billionaire has received pushback from Republican lawmakers for his stance, with Rep. Darin LaHood saying he "doesn't understand how the tax bill works."
Appearing on CNBC Monday morning, LaHood defended the legislation, which narrowly passed the House last week and now heads to the Senate. "I would disagree with Elon in the sense that he doesn't understand how the tax bill works," he said, citing positive economic data from the 2017 tax cuts and describing the current proposal as "rocket fuel for the economy."
The legislation includes trillions in tax cuts alongside major boosts to defense and national security spending, offset by cuts to social and energy programs. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates it could add $3.8 trillion to the deficit.
LaHood, however, remained bullish on the bill, highlighting provisions like bonus depreciation and the R&D tax credit as critical to spurring economic growth—regardless of Musk's misgivings.
Trump has also been criticizing detractors of the bill, personally slamming Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday. In a series of posts in his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said Paul "has very little understanding of the BBB, especially the tremendous GROWTH that is coming." "He loves voting "NO" on everything, he thinks it's good politics, but it's not. The BBB is a big WINNER!!!" Trump said.
"Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas. His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can't stand him. This is a BIG GROWTH BILL!" Trump added.
Paul is not the only GOP senator opposing the bill. Ron Johnson has said there are enough colleagues to block the bill "unless the president gets serious about spending reduction and reducing the deficit."
Sen. Susan Collins voted for the initial budget blueprint but later questioned concerns over how her constituents could see their Medicaid coverage impacted. Thom Tillis and Joni Ernest could also face criticism if they support the bill.
Originally published on Latin Times Elon musk Donald trump Congress