Musk tears into Trump's mega-bill

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Published: | Updated:
Elon Musk went nuclear on President Donald Trump 's big, beautiful bill on Tuesday, calling it 'a disgusting abomination' and condemning lawmakers who voted for it. He blasted it for bringing massively increasing 'the already gigantic budget deficit.' 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' Musk wrote in a post on X. He notably did not use Trump's moniker for the federal spending bill - the president refers to it as 'one big beautiful bill' – but Musk's meaning was clear.
'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,' the SpaceX founder noted. He added: 'It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.'
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed Musk's tweets on the matter, which came live during her 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.' Musk 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. But his comments on Tuesday were his harshest to date and come as the bill is being debated in the Senate. They also come 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.
And, 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. Other administration officials have stood up for the legislation. Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has been vocal in his defense of the spending plan, a fact that got a lot of attention after his wife Katie Miller left DOGE to work for Elon Musk. 'The Big Beautiful Bill decreases total spending over the budget window by nearly $2 trillion,' Miller wrote on X Sunday.
House Republicans passed the legislation last month by a mere one vote. The Senate is expected to amend what the House sent them but those negotiations are ongoing. Trump has said he wants a final version of the legislation on his desk for signature by July 4. Musk, meanwhile, formally left the Trump administration on Friday, holding court with the president in an Oval Office press conference. It was his last day as a special government employee.
The Tesla founder sported a black eye during the event, which he said was the result of his son X punching him. But even before he departed the White House Musk made clear his disagreement with the 'big beautiful bill,' which is Trump's signature legislation that funds the government. Musk said he was 'disappointed to see the massive spending bill' because it increases the budget deficit and undermines DOGE.
'I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, doesn't decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' he told CBS News. I said, '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.' 'I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful,' Musk added with a laugh. 'But I don't know if it could be both. My personal opinion.'
Musk has claimed to save the federal government billions through his DOGE efforts. 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.