Elon Musk, freshly departed from the Trump administration, lashed out on Tuesday against the Republican tax and spending package now in the Senate, calling it a “disgusting abomination” and warning that it will “massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit.”
In a series of posts on X, Musk amplified his recent criticism of the GOP bill, which he had previously said undermines the cost-cutting of his Department of Government Efficiency. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote Tuesday afternoon. “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.”
Minutes later, he added: “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
The bill, which squeaked through the House last month in a 215-214 vote, is likely to undergo changes in the Senate, where some Republicans are demanding steeper spending reductions while others have expressed concern about the Medicaid cuts it would require.
President Donald Trump on Monday evening urged Congress to send the bill to his desk by July 4 and called the legislation “a massive step to balancing our Budget” because of the spending cuts it includes, even as experts project that the package as passed by the House will add roughly $3 trillion to the debt over the next decade.
“The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at her press briefing Tuesday when asked about Musk’s comments. “It doesn’t change the president’s opinion.”
Leavitt also repeated criticisms of the Congressional Budget Office and its projections, claiming that the non-partisan scorekeeper has become “partisan and political.” She said the White House was confident in its own economic analysis of the GOP bill. Leavitt and other administration officials have argued that the legislation will not add to the deficit, based on its spending cuts and rosy projections of increased economic growth.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has also insisted that the GOP bill will not add to the deficit, told reporters he was very disappointed and surprised by Musk’s comments, especially after the two men had just discussed the legislation yesterday. “With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big, beautiful bill,” Johnson said.
“It’s not personal,” Johnson added. “I just deeply regret that he’s made this mistake.”
Democrats, meanwhile, were all too happy to play up Musk’s comments. “I agree with Elon Musk!” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer gleefully told reporters, holding up a printout of Musk’s social media posts. “Republicans should listen to him.”
The bottom line: Musk’s opinions aren’t likely to sway senators now deciding what changes to make to the House-passed bill. “We’re going to proceed, full speed ahead,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters.