Elon Musk lashed out on Tuesday against the far-reaching Republican bill intended to enact President Trump’s domestic policy agenda, posting on X that it was a “disgusting abomination” and telling House members who voted for it: “You know you did wrong.”
The tech billionaire’s criticism of the bill, one of Mr. Trump’s top priorities, was another indication of a widening rift between Mr. Musk and the president. Mr. Musk — who has left his governmental role leading the Department of Government Efficiency — largely presented a united front with the Trump administration until recently.
Last month, Mr. Musk started publicly criticizing Mr. Trump’s bill, saying in an interview with CBS News’s “Sunday Morning” that he was disappointed in the legislation’s size and impact on the deficit.
On Tuesday, Mr. Musk ramped up his criticism, writing on X: “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore.” He called the bill “massive, outrageous, pork-filled.” In follow-up posts, he said, “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit” and “Congress is making America bankrupt.”
“The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,” said Karoline Leavitt, a White House spokeswoman. “It doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it.”
Mr. Trump has urged swift passage of the legislation — officially called the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act — which would slash taxes, providing the biggest savings to the wealthy, and steer more money to the military and immigration enforcement. As written, the legislation would cut health, nutrition, education and clean energy programs to cover part of the cost.
Mr. Trump and his allies have sought to sell the bill with falsehoods. White House officials and Speaker Mike Johnson have claimed the bill would shrink the debt, although the Congressional Budget Office and a number of independent analysts have estimated that the bill would increase federal deficits by well over $1 trillion, even when economic growth is factored in.
Mr. Musk’s criticism comes at a critical moment for the bill, which passed the House in the face of a strong pressure campaign by Mr. Trump. As Mr. Johnson corralled several competing Republican factions, the president summoned recalcitrant holdouts to the White House, and his staff likened Republican opposition to the bill to “the ultimate betrayal.”
But Republican senators have already made clear that they planned to make changes to the bill. Fiscal conservatives, alarmed at estimates it would swell the national debt, have demanded further changes and cuts to Medicaid and other programs that could help rein in deficits.
Some Democrats celebrated Mr. Musk’s criticism. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, brought a printed-out copy to the party’s weekly news conference.
“He’s right,” Mr. Schumer said. “Republicans should listen to him.”
Mr. Musk — who appeared onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February with a chain saw and said it would be “easy” to save the government billions of dollars — earlier on Tuesday shared a meme on X that included a photo of fingertips pinching a minuscule pair of scissors.
“Republicans getting ready to reduce the size of government,” the caption read.
Later, after his posts about the bill, he wrote: “In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people.”
Shawn McCreesh, Theodore Schleifer and Catie Edmondson contributed reporting.
Kate Conger is a technology reporter based in San Francisco. She can be reached at [email protected].
Michael Gold covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on immigration policy and congressional oversight.
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