Mike Johnson blasts Elon Musk as ‘terribly wrong' over explosive tweet on GOP 'Big Beautiful' Bill
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson slammed Elon Musk on Tuesday, calling the tech billionaire "terribly wrong" regarding the latter's thoughts on the Republicans' "Big Beautiful Bill."
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson slammed Elon Musk on Tuesday, calling the tech billionaire "terribly wrong" regarding the latter's thoughts on the Republicans' "Big Beautiful Bill." Speaking with reporters in the capital building, Johnson stated, "With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big, beautiful bill."
According to Johnson, he spoke over the phone with the former chief of DOGE and said the pair had a friendly conversation on Monday about the 'virtues' of the bill. According to Johnson, the conversation lasted 20 minutes and Musk "seemed to understand" more about the bill.
The speaker told the assembled reporters that he and Musk discussed the accelerated repeal of many green subsidies in the House version of the bill, something Musk has voiced opposition to in recent days. "But for him to come out and pan the whole bill, to me, is just very disappointing-very, very surprising in light of the conversation I had with him yesterday," Johnson said.
'It's not personal,' the speaker added. 'I just deeply regret that he's made this mistake.'
Johnson's statement comes after Musk shocked thousands of X users when he posted a statement slamming his former boss's bill. According to Musk, the Big Beautiful Bill, undermines all the work DOGE allegedly has done.
"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," he wrote. The bill, which is still waiting for Senate approval, would allegedly prolong Trump's notable tax cuts from 2017, increase funding for border security, mandate work requirements for Medicaid, and reduce clean energy tax incentives.
Musk also spoke out against the bill on Sunday during an interview on CBS's Sunday Morning. "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," he said.
Should it be fully passed by both the House and the Senate, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act decreases spending by over $1.5 trillion compared to the current baseline. However, it also contributes approximately $3.1 trillion to the national debt.
During her weekly press briefing, Karoline Leavitt defended Donald Trump's magnum opus and stated that they were aware of Musk's comments. "How mad do you think President Trump is going to be when he finds out Elon Musk said this massive, outrageous pork-filled congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination?" Fox News' Peter Doocy asked.
"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," replied Leavitt. "There's $1.6 trillion worth of savings in this bill," Leavitt said during a previous May press briefing, adding that it is "the largest savings for any legislation that has ever passed Capitol Hill in our nation's history."
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