Musk clashes with Trump on spending bill but will he change minds?

Yahoo

2 days ago

Elon Musk is out of the White House but he continues to have influence over some in the Republican Party. It might not be as much as he hopes, however.
The multibillionaire has taken to social media to clash with President Donald Trump's spending package and joined forces with conservative spending hawks, including Sens. Mike Lee and Rand Paul.
While Musk has insisted he'll do a 'lot less' spending on politics in the future, he called for the firing of 'all politicians who betrayed the American people' come next November.
The sentiment could worry vulnerable Republicans over a possible primary challenge in 2026, but might not be enough to change their vote on the package.
So far the president has stayed largely quiet over the disagreement with Musk, while the White House continues to push senators to pass it quickly.
The question remains what impact, if any, Musk's outspoken opposition to the reconciliation package will have on GOP lawmakers.
Here's a look at what's unfolding as the Senate moves full steam ahead on Trump's 'big beautiful bill.'
After weeks of hearings, negotiations and changes to the budget, the House passed Trump's agenda in a razor-thin overnight vote last month.
The budget has made its way to the upper chamber, but some senators have shared there must be major changes before they can support it.
Both Utah senators expect changes to be made. Sen. John Curtis wants to see changes to provisions that repeal the clean energy tax credits included in the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act.
Curtis said members of the House sent the resolution to the Senate knowing changes would have to be made.
Meanwhile, Lee has argued that while there are 'solid victories' in the bill, he doesn't think it does enough to address government spending.
In several posts online, Lee said government overspending has put the country on an 'unsustainable path' and said he is fighting back to cut spending as the bill makes its way through the Senate.
In his frustration with current spending provisions, the senior senator has made an ally of Musk.
Just days after leaving the Trump administration and his leadership position in the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk has ramped up his criticism with Trump's big beautiful bill.
In a post on his X platform on Tuesday, Musk slammed the bill for its spending and called out lawmakers who voted to pass it.
'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,' Musk said. 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.'
Lee replied to Musk's post, calling on the Senate to 'make this bill better.' Musk later reposted Lee's sentiment that spending has become 'excessive' and the Senate must 'now' improve the bill.
Musk also shared a post from Sen. Paul, who has called for cuts to government spending.
Wednesday's conversation revolved around the big players in the spending fight in the Senate, but also noted the president's silence when it came to Musk.
Paul received overnight criticism from Trump on his Truth Social platform, saying that the Kentucky senator consistently 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 said in one post.
In another post, Trump said Paul has 'very little understanding' of his big beautiful bill, especially the 'tremendous' growth that would come from it.
Paul doubled down on his criticism and called for fiscal responsibility, despite push back from Trump and other party leaders.
When Musk departed the White House as a special government employee last week, Trump praised him for his work cutting government spending and said the tech billionaire would stay close with the administration.
However, the president has been quiet when it comes to Musk's disparaging remarks about the spending package and reports note that Trump would not like to draw attention to the strain in their relationship.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during Tuesday's briefing that Trump already knew where Musk stood on the bill, but it 'doesn't change the president's opinion.'
During a House GOP leadership press conference on Wednesday morning, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he spoke with Musk on Monday and had a good conversation. Seeing him do 'a 180' by publicly slamming the package online on Tuesday came as a surprise, Johnson said.
Trump has not made public remarks about Musk's opposition, but Johnson said the president is 'not delighted' that Musk is opposing the spending.
'I don't know what happened in 24 hours. Everybody can draw their own conclusions about that,' Johnson said.
Johnson said he looks forward to speaking with Musk, who he called his friend, again about the package sometime on Wednesday. Still, Musk charged forward on social media over the last few days, even calling for lawmakers who supported the spending to be fired in the 2026 midterm elections.
Shortly before Musk left his posting at DOGE to return focus to his companies, he shared that he thought he has 'done enough' political spending and said he would do a 'lot less' in the future.
While he didn't rule out additional political spending entirely, Musk is making his financial influence known, even from outside of the White House.
In a post Wednesday, Musk called for the firing of lawmakers who support the spending package.
'In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,' he said.
Johnson brushed aside concern that Musk's threat would impact the thin GOP majority in the House come 2026.
'Am I concerned about the effect of this on the midterms? I'm not. Let me tell you why. Because when the big, beautiful bill is done and signed into law, every single American is going to do better,' Johnson said Wednesday at the House GOP press conference. 'This bill is geared for middle and working class Americans and they are going to feel the effects of it.'
'And they are going to feel it before the midterm elections,' he continued. 'So, I have no concern whatsoever. I am absolutely convinced that we're going to win the midterms and grow the House majority.'
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., expressed a different view. He was one of three House Republicans to vote against the spending package last month.
On Wednesday, he shared support for Musk helping primary nearly every GOP lawmaker who voted through the reconciliation bill. There are a few House Republicans that 'should be spared' from a challenge in the midterms, Massie said, noting that he wouldn't push for that himself.
'I don't primary my colleagues, but I feel pretty good about him doing it,' he said of Musk creating 'term limits.'
In December, Musk used similar techniques to tank a bipartisan continuing resolution spending bill and upended House Republicans' deal just before a government shutdown deadline.
The Senate has set a deadline of July 4 as a goal to pass the bill and get it to Trump's desk.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged that it's going to be a busy June as the upper chamber works to revise the package and vote through the changes.
Thune can afford to only lose three Republican votes on the bill, since all Democrats are expected to vote against it. However, as it stands, it may not earn enough GOP support.
Paul said on CBS' 'Face the Nation' on Sunday that he and at least three other Republican senators are against the bill in its current form. He doubled down on the sentiment in a post Tuesday.
'I want to see the tax cuts made permanent, but I also want to see the $5 trillion in new debt removed from the bill,' he said on X. 'At least 4 of us in the Senate feel this way.'
Musk is hoping to increase that number by ramping up messaging online.
In a Wednesday afternoon post, he told people to call their senators and congresspeople because 'Bankrupting America is NOT ok!' He added, 'KILL the BILL.'
It's unclear if Musk's threat about firing the bill's supporters is having an impact on vulnerable Republicans this far out from the 2026 election, or if he will succeed in actually killing the bill.
But largely the sentiment on Capitol Hill is that while Musk is outspoken against the package, he may not have that much sway anymore — for now.
Contributing: Cami Mondeaux