Trump allies side with Elon Musk on fiscal spending

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

The civil war brewing inside MAGA continued to unravel on Tuesday as Marjorie Taylor Greene joined others to side with Elon Musk over President Trump's massive spending bill. Taylor Greene's opposition to the 'big, beautiful bill' came just hours after the former 'First Buddy' raged against the spending package that Trump is pushing GOP leadership to have it on his desk by the fourth of July.
Greene, of Trump's strongest allies in the Senate , admitted to voting for the bill without having read one section that would have led to her reversing that decision. 'Full transparency, I did not know about this section... that strips states of the right to make laws or regulate AI for 10 years,' she said. 'I am adamantly OPPOSED to this and it is a violation of state rights and I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there.' She promised she would change her vote if the bill keeps that section in it when it returns to the House of Representatives following any Senate changes.
Musk has publicly said that the bill's enormous price tag 'undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing' and referred to it as 'a disgusting abomination' before promising Tuesday to 'fire' any politician who votes for it. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson insisted the Tesla billionaire was 'wrong' about the bill. However, GOP Congressman member Scott Perry - a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus - also slammed the bill on Tuesday. 'So @elonmusk is right to call out House Leadership. I wish I had a nickel for every time the @freedomcaucus sounded the alarm and nobody listened, only to find out the hard way we were right all along,' Perry wrote. 'We expect MASSIVE improvements from the Senate before it gets back to the House.' Perry had, in fact, voted for the bill but he appeared to be making the same bet as Greene regarding a revised bill.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who has yet to vote on the bill, came out guns blazing against the bill on Tuesday. He quote-tweeted Musk's claim that the bill would add $2.5trillion to the deficit, calling it 'nothing short of stunning.' 'Congress has hollowed out America's middle class through reckless deficit spending and the inflation it causes. The Uniparty propels this vicious cycle, and must be stopped in its tracks,' he wrote. Shelley Moore Caputo, a West Virginia Republican, said on Monday: 'We haven't had a chance to digest how it's going to impact our hospitals' and added that there's a 'lot of concern.' Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson and Kentucky libertarian Rand Paul have both said they also won't support the bill as is.
Stephen Miller (pictured), whose wife Katie now works for Musk, sided with Trump and Johnson and ardently defended the bill on social media. 'The bill was designed by President Trump, his loyal aides, and his closest allies in Congress to deliver fully and enthusiastically on the explicit promises he made the American People,' he said. Within the package is about $5 trillion in tax cuts, to be partially funded by repealing or phasing out more quickly the clean energy tax credits passed during Joe Biden's presidency. Meanwhile, insiders are suggesting that Elon's heel turn on Trump has come from his inability to secure favorable treatment from the bill. 'Elon was butthurt' about his treatment regarding the bill and at large within the administration, a source told Axios.
Sources cited cuts to an electric vehicle tax credit that would have impacted Tesla and wanted the Federal Aviation Administration to use his satellite system Starlink in a revamp of to air traffic control which was denied. The administration reportedly rejected both of Musk's ideas out of worries about conflicts of interest. However, the straw that broke the camel's back may have been Trump's surprise torpedo of Jared Isaacman (pictured) to be NASA administrator. The president maintains he backflipped on billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman's appointment after learning of his past donations to the Democrats. But MAGA loyalists suspect Trump may have been set up to make the call by insiders who have it out for Elon Musk and are looking to hurt him by punishing his friend.
Trump ally Laura Loomer wrote: 'There is reason to believe that Isaacman may be facing retaliation because of his friendship with Elon Musk. If so, this would suggest there is a coordinated hit job on Isaacman in an effort to damage ties between President Trump and Elon Musk before the 2026 midterms. Is President Trump aware of the ulterior motives by some individuals in the administration who have an interest in seeing Isaacman's nomination pulled?' The New York Times revealed on Sunday that Trump reportedly knew about Isaacman's donations from the moment he chose to nominate him to run NASA. Sergio Gor - director of the Office of Presidential Personnel and a Musk foe in the White House - reportedly made that call. One White House official said: 'This was Sergio's out-the-door '[expletive] you' to Musk. I'm pretty sure Elon thought the NASA situation was a last insult.'
The 'big beautiful bill' is intended to be an encompassing piece of legislation to allow Trump to move forward with much of his agenda, with policies ranging from tax cuts to immigration. The legislation brings large spending increases that the GOP has fought against in recent years, including raising the debt limit by more than $4 trillion over the next two years. Within the package is about $5 trillion in tax cuts, to be partially funded by repealing or phasing out more quickly the clean energy tax credits passed during Joe Biden's presidency. Musk has publicly said that the enormous price tag 'undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing' and referred to it as 'a disgusting abomination.' On Tuesday, he promised that anyone who votes for the bill will face consequences in the 2026 midterm elections. 'In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,' he said ominously.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed Musk's tweets when asked about it during a televised press briefing. 'Look the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill, and it hasn't changed the president's opinion,' she said. 'This is one big, beautiful bill, and he's sticking to it.' When DailyMail.com has reached out to the White House for comment on the new tweet, they directed us to Leavitt's statement earlier today. House Speaker Johnson said Musk was 'wrong' about the bill. 'With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big, beautiful bill,' Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill. Musk left his job as a special government employee only five days ago. He and President Trump appeared to part on good terms, with Trump gifting him a golden key to the White House. It wasn't immediately clear how Musk's tirade will affect their relationship given that Trump typically has a low tolerance for criticism.
Musk has previously indicated he was against the bill, which funds the federal government. He said he was concerned it would undo the work of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). But his comments on Tuesday were his harshest to date and come as the bill is being debated in the Senate. It also came five days after he formally left the Trump administration. The legislation will add about $3.8 trillion to the federal government's $36.2 trillion in debt over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, it will boost the nation's debt by $3.1 trillion. But Trump has defended his signature legislation, arguing it will lower taxes. 'We will take a massive step to balancing our Budget by enacting the largest mandatory Spending Cut, EVER, and Americans will get to keep more of their money with the largest Tax Cut, EVER, and no longer taxing Tips, Overtime, or Social Security for Seniors — Something 80 Million Voters supported in November,' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday.
Democrats, meanwhile, had a field day with Musk's tweets. 'I agree with Elon Musk,' Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said, holding up a print out of Musk's tweets. 'Republicans should listen to him.' House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries took it to another level on Tuesday. 'Breaking news: Elon Musk and I agree with each other. The GOP tax scam is a disgusting abomination,' Jeffries said. Notably, Trump didn't criticize Musk during a joint press conference with him in the Oval Office on Friday. The president defended his signature legislation but didn't mention Musk. In the past, Trump has attacked others who have criticized him. Musk, the world's richest man, spent $290 million in the last election cycle to help get Trump and Republican candidates elected. Instead Trump said he would negotiate parts of the bill as it makes its way through the legislative process. 'We will be negotiating that bill, and I'm not happy about certain aspects of it, but I'm thrilled by other aspects of it,' Trump told reporters, without directly addressing Musk's concerns.