The 'Big, Beautiful' tax and spending bill seems to have ended the bromance between US President Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk. Trump's signature bill offers multi-trillion dollar tax cuts, ramps up defence spends and allows higher US government borrowings. And in Musk's own admission, he couldn't "stand it anymore."
He took to his social media platform X, and said "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 didn’t stop there. He went on to say the bill would "massively increase the already gigantic US budget deficit to $2.5 trillion" and burden American citizens with "crushingly unsustainable debt".The posts mark the first public dispute between the former allies since Musk abruptly left the Trump administration, after running the Department of Government Efficiency for over four months.
A week before he left, Musk called Trump's budget proposal disappointing and warned that it would undermine his work at DOGE. The department's website claims it has saved around $175 billion by cutting out inefficiencies in the federal government. But, it's not just Musk. Several fiscally conservative Republicans in the US Senate have opposed Trump's budget bill.
This could complicate the bill's passage in the upper house of the US Congress. The bill cleared the House last month by a single vote, after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the measure would add $3.8 trillion to the federal government's $36.2 trillion in debt.
The Senate will vote on the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" next month, though senators are expected to make amendments to the version passed by the House.
Reports suggest that Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill will hit Musk’s business interests if approved by lawmakers.
A Reuters report said the bill would slash funding for electric vehicles and related technologies.This goes without saying—Musk’s Tesla is the biggest electric vehicle manufacturing company in the US.The billionaire who once promised to fund opponents of any Republican who voted against Trump's agenda, has changed his tunes.
“In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people.” Musk wrote.
He's now threatening political consequences against anyone who votes for Trump's bill, betrays the American people.
But, the White House downplayed Musk's scathing remarks, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying that it did not change anything. Leavitt said, "The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill, it doesn't change his opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he's sticking to it.”
