Reuters/Nathan Howard
As President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” inches closer to final passage, Elon Musk has ratcheted up his criticism of the bill even further, threatening to end the political careers of anyone who votes for it.
“They will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth,” Musk said on Monday.
Musk, the single largest political donor of the 2024 election, could theoretically pour millions of dollars into funding primary challengers against sitting members of Congress.
He’s also mused about launching a new political party, and he’s said he’ll donate to a GOP congressman who’s been critical of Trump’s agenda.
So, how seriously are Republican lawmakers taking Musk’s threats?
“Not that seriously,” Rep. Abe Hamadeh of Arizona told BI. “Elon Musk actually donated to me last quarter.”
Hamadeh is one of 21 House Republicans who’s already received a more than $6,000 check from Musk this year, according to the most recently available campaign finance data. That list includes a host of right-flank Republicans including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
Republicans say they’re not worried about Musk’s complaints at this point, and there’s a sense that Musk, now on the outs with Trump and more focused on his companies, simply won’t follow through.
“Similar threats have been made before, and I’m unsure if anything’s come of those threats,” Rep. Brian Jack of Georgia said.
Musk has criticized the bill’s phase-out of clean energy subsidies as well as its impact on the national debt. He has said it largely undoes the work of DOGE, the government-efficiency and cost-cutting initiative he launched at the beginning of Trump’s second term.
“Look, I mean, he’s the wealthiest man in the world. You have to take everything seriously,” Jack added. “But at the same time, I’m just hopeful that if he does engage politically, it’s on behalf of the party that’s enacted pro-growth policy.”
It’s been a month since Musk and Trump’s relationship blew up in an epic feud, and Republicans on Capitol Hill have gotten used to the dynamic, even as they lament it.
“It’s a shame,” Rep. Aaron Bean of Florida, one of the three original chairs of the ill-fated House DOGE Caucus.
“We’re the ones working to bring financial sanity,” Bean said. “Hopefully he’ll realize that.”
Most Republicans remain careful not to insult the tech titan, who remains influential on the right and has shown a willingness to pour millions of dollars into elections.
Though not everyone is so diplomatic.
“It seems to me that he’s trying to divide Republicans,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York said on Fox Business on Tuesday. “Maybe he’s mad because we’re not focused on billionaires.”
All but three GOP senators voted to pass the Senate version of the bill on Tuesday, well after Musk began issuing his latest criticisms.
While final passage in the House still appears uncertain, it’s not Musk’s words that are weighing on the minds of lawmakers, but rather cuts to Medicaid and the bill’s impact on the federal deficit.
“I don’t pay attention to what the President threatens, or what Elon Musk says,” said Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, a critic of the bill. “We’re just trying to do what’s right by the American people in terms of keeping our deficit under control.”
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