Elon Musk calls Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill a ‘disgusting abomination’ – National
The chasm between Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be widening, as the former lashed out at the latter’s signature budget bill, calling it a “disgusting abomination.”
The billionaire, who just wrapped up a stint as a special government employee for the Trump administration, posted on his social media platform X Tuesday, calling Trump’s bill a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill.”
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote. “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.”
Musk, who had previously criticized the proposed legislation, quipping that it could be big or beautiful but not both, added on X: “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
He continued: “Congress is making America bankrupt.”
Musk, who donated a quarter-billion dollars to help fund Trump’s reelection campaign last year, left the White House last week, leaving behind his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
His comments echo ones he made last week, days before departing his post, where he told CBS he was “disappointed” by Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful” bill, saying it “undermines” the work he put into helping cut government spending.
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He described the legislation, which includes a mix of tax cuts and enhanced immigration enforcement, as a “massive spending bill” that will ultimately increase the federal deficit.
“I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful,” Musk said. “But I don’t know if it could be both.”
The package, titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” would cut taxes by US$3.75 trillion but also increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The CBO also estimates an increase of 10.9 million people without health insurance under the bill by 2034, including 1.4 million who are in the country without legal status in state-funded programs.
The package would reduce federal outlays, or spending, by nearly $1.3 trillion over that period, the budget office said.
The legislation — which still needs to pass the Senate — would extend Trump’s signature 2017 tax cuts, boost border security spending, impose work requirements on Medicaid and roll back clean energy tax credits.
“Republicans cry crocodile tears over the debt when Democrats are in charge — but explode it when they’re in power,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.
“In the words of Elon Musk,” Boyle said, “this bill is a ‘disgusting abomination.’”
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he called Musk late Tuesday to discuss the criticism but had not heard back. “I hope he comes around,” Johnson told reporters.
Musk, responding Wednesday to a video of Johnson’s comments to reporters, wrote on X one line: “We need a new bill that doesn’t grow the deficit.”
According to Politico, Republican allies close to the White House are privately arguing that Musk’s attacks on the megabill stem from the fact that it harms the tech billionaire’s business interests, including his electric vehicle company, Tesla.
“The West Wing is perplexed, unenthused, and disappointed” with Musk, one anonymous White House staffer told the outlet.
The legislation terminates multiple tax credits that Tesla — as one of the largest electric vehicle manufacturers in America — currently qualifies for, Politico notes, and the passing of the bill as it currently stands means Tesla’s $11.4 billion in regulatory credits would expire at the end of this year.
— With files from The Associated Press
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