Elon Musk expressed disappointment with the cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda in the latest sign of a widening rift between the former first buddies.
In a teaser for a forthcoming sit-down with CBS News’ Sunday Morning, Musk broke with Trump on the One Big Beautiful Bill, which passed the House last week after surviving a Republican civil war that prompted the president to step in.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk said, contradicting White House talking points.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and top Trump aide Stephen Miller have consistently maintained that the mega bill would not increase the deficit despite conflicting analyses by multiple organizations.
I’ve seen a few claims making the rounds on the Big Beautiful Bill that require correction.The first is that it doesn’t “codify the DOGE cuts.” A reconciliation bill, which is a budget bill that passes with 50 votes, is limited by senate rules to “mandatory” spending only — eg…
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) May 25, 2025
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation said in a preliminary analysis that the tax changes in the measure could increase the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion. Miller dismissed CBO’s analysis as the result of an “accounting gimmick.”
Credit rating agency Moody’s similarly calculated that around $4 trillion would be added to the deficit if Trump’s 2017 tax bill, which the massive new legislation makes permanent, is extended.
The Penn-Wharton Budget Model also estimated that the bill would cause the deficit to soar by $3.3 trillion over the next 10 years.
As for Musk’s concern that the bill “undermines” the work of DOGE, Miller said Senate rules limiting the measure to mandatory spending are to blame: “The DOGE cuts are overwhelmingly discretionary, not mandatory.”
Musk also had some thoughts about Trump’s chosen name for his signature bill.
“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful,” the billionaire said with a chuckle. “But I don’t know if it can be both—my personal opinion.”
Musk, chief of the divisive cost-cutting task force DOGE, was a near-constant presence around Trump in the early days of the administration. Cracks in the relationship began to appear, however, after the tech mogul failed to deliver a win for Trump in a high-stakes election to fill an empty seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Following the massive loss, Trump reportedly began telling his inner circle that Musk would be stepping back from the White House to focus on his businesses. Because Musk is designated as a special government employee, he is limited to working only 130 days.
Musk also said last week that he would do “a lot less” political spending after his car brand Tesla reported a plunge in profits.
“You’re invited to stay as long as you want,” Trump told Musk at the end of April. “At some point, he wants to get back home to his cars.”
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