Elon Musk is not happy with President Donald Trump’s signature spending bill, distancing himself from the legislation that narrowly passed the House last week and is now headed to the Senate.
The measure, which Trump has hailed as a “big, beautiful bill,” would extend the 2017 tax cuts while enacting deep cuts to Medicaid in an effort to partially offset the costs. However, a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that the legislation will increase the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion over the next decade, largely due to the extended tax breaks.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not decreases it,” Musk told correspondent David Pogue in an interview for CBS Sunday Morning. “It undermines the work the DOGE team is doing.”
Musk was tapped by Trump early in his term to helm the DOGE initiative, which the president promised would root out government inefficiency and find up to $2 trillion in savings. DOGE claims it has already saved $175 billion, although that number is disputed by watchdog groups who cite a lack of transparency and detail in the agency’s reporting. Much of DOGE’s cost-cutting has come from mass layoffs of federal workers and the freezing of congressionally-approved spending—moves that have triggered numerous legal challenges.
The tension between Musk’s fiscal mission and the Trump administration’s latest legislative push has further strained a relationship that was once highly visible. Musk made frequent visits to the White House during the early months of Trump’s presidency, but his appearances have dwindled amid growing disagreements. Reports suggest Musk has clashed privately with key Trump advisors over spending and regulatory policy.
Asked if he believed the new bill had undone his agency’s work, Musk offered a characteristically sardonic critique: “I think a bill can be big, or it can be beautiful. But I don’t know if it can be both. My personal opinion.”
The criticism from Musk echoes concerns voiced by other influential Trump-world figures. Steve Bannon, former White House strategist and conservative media personality, said last week he was “very upset” by the bill, warning it could dampen enthusiasm among fiscal conservatives ahead of the November elections.
Despite the pushback from some allies, Trump has continued to tout the bill as essential to boosting economic growth and helping middle-class families. The White House maintains that the extended tax cuts will stimulate investment and job creation, and that the Medicaid trims will encourage more efficient state-level management of health programs.
Still, the growing divide between Trump and some of his most prominent backers may complicate efforts to shepherd the bill through the Senate, where even a slim margin of opposition could derail the legislation.
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One Response
Deficit spending works fine. Many countries have tried it: Germany in the 1920s, Israel in the 1970s, Zimbabwe. Find models for American fiscal policy. It rapidly increases the number of millionaires and billionaires – what could be wrong with that???