‘Disgusting abomination’: Musk goes nuclear on Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’
Elon Musk came out swinging against President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” on Tuesday, slamming the reconciliation package as a “disgusting abomination” in a massive break from the president just days after stepping away from his role in the administration.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X. “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 Trump had tapped to lead the federal expense-slashing Department of Government Efficiency, went on to criticize the bill for setting up Congress to “increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!)” and saddle Americans with “crushingly unsustainable debt.”
Musk’s comments come as the bill is set to face Senate scrutiny after narrowly passing in the House last month.
Musk’s bombshell attack on Trump’s prized megabill marks a dam-breaking moment for the billionaire presidential adviser, shortly after stepping back from his position helming DOGE last week as the end of his designated time as a special government employee came to a close.
Musk had criticized some of the president’s policies while he was serving in government. But the harsh rebuke of legislation pushed by Trump — who said in May that the bill was “arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country” — marks the most severe split between the Trump ally and the president.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt brushed off Musk’s criticism, which he posted as she was at the briefing room podium.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt brushed off Musk’s criticism, which he posted as she was at the briefing room podium. “The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,” she said. “It doesn’t change the president’s opinion.”
Musk’s social media post emboldened some of the reconcilation’s package Republican critics. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of two Republican defections against the bill last month, was quick to boost Musk’s tirade, writing “He’s right” in a post on X.
And Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who Trump criticized repeatedly earlier Tuesday for his opposition to the bill, came out in support of Musk.
“I agree with Elon,” Paul wrote on X. “We have both seen the massive waste in government spending and we know another $5 trillion in debt is a huge mistake. We can and must do better.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) also jumped on the post, replying to Musk that “The Senate must make this bill better.”
But the message came as a blow to House Speaker Mike Johnson, who was instrumental in pushing the bill through the House.
Musk “coming out and panning” the GOP megabill is “very disappointing,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol, “and very surprising in light of the conversation I had with him.”
Tuesday’s post wasn’t the first time Musk expressed disapproval of Republicans’ megabill.
The former DOGE head took to CBS News last week to criticize the bill, saying he was “disappointed to see the massive spending bill,” and lamenting that it “undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
While Musk’s role at DOGE fundamentally reshaped Washington, the close Trump ally has signaled his frustration with the administration in recent weeks, from launching an attack on Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro on X over the administration’s sweeping tariff policy — which impacted Musk’s business holdings — to indicating that he had “done enough” in politics after throwing significant funds at an ill-fated Wisconsin Supreme Court race in April.
Meredith Lee Hill and Ben Johansen contributed to this report.