Tech billionaire Elon Musk has openly criticised United States President Donald Trump’s latest tax and spending bill, calling it “a disgusting abomination” and warning it could damage America’s economy.
Musk, who had been working briefly with the Trump administration to help reduce government spending, made the comments on Tuesday via posts on X (formerly Twitter), just days after leaving the administration.
The bill, recently passed by the House of Representatives, is part of Trump’s second-term agenda and includes trillions of dollars in tax breaks, more money for defence, and a plan to borrow more funds by raising the government’s debt limit.
“Shame on those who voted for it,” Musk wrote. He said the bill was full of “pork” – a term in American politics that refers to wasteful government spending meant to benefit certain lawmakers.
Musk claimed that the bill would increase the US budget deficit to $2.5 trillion, which he said would be a heavy burden on American citizens. “This outrageous, pork-filled bill will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit,” he warned.
The South African-born businessman also took aim at politicians who supported the bill. “In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,” he posted.
Before his resignation on 31 May, Musk worked for 129 days on a special cost-cutting team known as Doge. Although Trump praised Musk when he left, saying “he will, always, be with us, helping all the way,” Musk’s recent statements show there may be growing tension between the two.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded by saying, “The President already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill… This is one, big, beautiful bill. And he’s sticking to it.”
Trump has called the bill his “big beautiful bill” and said it will help the country. It includes plans to extend tax cuts from 2017 and provide more money for defence and immigration enforcement. However, it also raises the debt ceiling to $4 trillion — a move that has upset some members of Trump’s own Republican Party.
Some Republican lawmakers, like Senator Rand Paul, have refused to support the bill. “The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this,” Paul said in an interview with CBS News.
Trump fired back on social media, claiming that Senator Paul “has very little understanding of the bill” and that “the people of Kentucky can’t stand him.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the party will “proceed full speed ahead” despite Musk’s objections. House Speaker Mike Johnson also disagreed with Musk, saying, “My friend Elon is terribly wrong… It’s a very important first start. Elon is missing it.”
Johnson revealed that he spoke with Musk for 20 minutes about the bill, especially about parts of it that could hurt Tesla — Musk’s electric car company — like cutting tax breaks for electric vehicles.
“I just deeply regret he’s made this mistake,” Johnson added.
Reports suggest Musk was also unhappy about decisions related to air traffic control at the US Federal Aviation Administration. He reportedly wanted it to run on his Starlink satellite system, but this was rejected due to concerns over fairness and technology.
Even some Democrats, who normally disagree with Musk, supported his criticism of the bill. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “Even Elon Musk, who’s been part of the whole process, and is one of Trump’s buddies, said the bill is bad. We can imagine how bad this bill is.”
Despite the backlash, Trump and his Republican allies are pushing to get the bill signed into law by 4 July.
To reduce worries about too much spending, Trump has proposed a separate plan to cut \$9.4 billion from current budgets, targeting foreign aid, USAID, and US public broadcasters like NPR and PBS — an idea that came from Musk’s Doge team.
