Elon Musk blasts Donald Trump's agenda bill as ‘disgusting abomination'
Elon Musk on Tuesday issued a blistering criticism of the Republican spending bill for US President Donald Trump 's agenda, posting on X that it represents a 'disgusting abomination'.
'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' Musk wrote. '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.'
He added: 'It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.'
Musk, who officially left the White House last week, appeared to be pointing to estimates from budget experts who found that the Republican tax bill could add more than $2.5 trillion to the federal deficit in the coming years. The Tesla CEO previously signaled his disappointment in the legislation, telling CBS News he believed it was a 'massive spending bill' that 'undermines' the work of his Department of Government Efficiency operation.
The remarks come as the White House seeks to codify $9.4 billion in cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency, the advisory entity Musk helmed in the initial months of Trump's second administration. The 'rescissions' package would require a simple majority in the House and the Senate to pass, meaning the Republicans could bypass the Democrats.
Asked Tuesday at a news briefing about Musk's initial tweet, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: 'Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn't change the president's opinion. This is one big beautiful bill, and he's sticking to it.'
The White House declined to offer additional comment.
The House narrowly passed the broader GOP policy package last month in a 215-214 vote, but it still has several steps to clear before reaching Trump's desk. The House bill would extend the president's 2017 tax cuts, eliminate tax on tips and overtime work, cut spending to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion.
To get it passed in the House, the bill required some wrangling of Republicans worried about the deficit, and the issue remains in discussion among many on the right. Some Republicans in the Senate, meanwhile, have made clear they oppose the measure's increase to the debt ceiling and cuts to Medicaid.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a close ally of the president's who voted in favor of the measure, expressed regret on X Tuesday over her support for the bill because of a provision she claimed she didn't know was included.
'Full transparency, I did not know about this section on pages 278-279 of the OBBB that strips states of the right to make laws or regulate AI for 10 years,' she said, referring to the legislation dubbed the 'One Big Beautiful Bill'. '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 ... This needs to be stripped out in the Senate.'
The Senate has not yet passed its version of the bill, and it will need to negotiate a compromise with the House, which would need to pass it again if the upper chamber makes any changes to the original version.
Musk's comments come just days after the president gave him an official send-off from the Oval Office. The tech titan's stint in Washington has been the subject of withering criticism, with many pointing out that Musk, the wealthiest person in the world, was only able to achieve a fraction of the $2 trillion in cuts he had set out to make.
They also hint at lingering tensions with the Trump administration — some of which made their way to the public through news reports about tense meetings and shouting matches. Musk previously took some of his grievances public, including criticism of Trump's tariffs.
Meanwhile, Musk's public profile has suffered — as did the perception of his most consumer-centric business, Tesla. Tesla shares are down about 13 per cent so far this year as sales have flagged.
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