On Tuesday, the 3rd of June, billionaire Elon Musk commented on President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful” tax cut and spending bill, calling it a “disgusting atrocity” that will increase the federal deficit, according to Politico and Reuters.
Several fiscally responsible US Senate Republicans agreed with Musk’s opinion, which was published online and could complicate the Senate’s decision next month.
“Sorry, I can’t take this anymore,” Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk wrote on his social media profile X.
“This massive, outrageous, pork-fillled Congressional spending bill, is an abomination. Those who voted for it should be ashamed: you know you did the wrong thing. You know it.”
Musk, whom Trump had appointed head of the Department of Federal Spending Reduction (DOGE), continued to criticize the bill for increasing the already large US deficit and imposing “disproportionate debt” on Americans.
Last month, the House of Representatives passed it by a single vote, despite warnings that the bill could increase the 36.2 trillion dollar national debt by 3.8 trillion dollars.
THE SENATE, ALSO CONTROLLED BY TRUMP’S REPUBLICANS, PLANS TO PASS THIS BROAD TAX AND SPENDING BILL NEXT MONTH, ALTHOUGH IT IS EXPECTED SENATORS WILL REVIEW THE HOUSE VERSION.
Musk’s sharp criticism of Trump’s major bill marks a turning point in their relationship. It came just after Musk stepped down from his temporary government post last week.
Although he had previously questioned some of Trump’s policy initiatives, this is his strongest move yet to distance himself from the president, who called the bill “arguably the most important piece of legislation ever signed in the history of our country.”
Republican deficit hawks have expressed concerns that the bill is too costly. The bill would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts for billionaires and increase military and border spending while cutting support for health programmes for low-income people.
The former DOGE chief criticized the bill in an interview with CBS News last week, saying he was “disappointed by the huge spending” and expressing regret that it “jeopardizes the work of the DOGE team.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected Musk’s criticism. “The president is well aware of Elon Musk’s position on this issue,” she said. “That does not change the president’s view.”
House Republican leader Mike Johnson also rejected Musk’s accusations, telling reporters: “My friend Elon is terribly mistaken.”
Musk, the world’s richest man, spent nearly 300 million dollars in last year’s election to support Trump’s campaign and other Republicans. However, he has announced that he will significantly reduce his political spending while returning to his role as CEO of Tesla.