Elon Musk ‘Disappointed’ in Trump Over ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
Elon Musk is not happy with President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
In a squeaker of a vote last week, the House narrowly passed the Trump-backed spending bill that would extend the 2017 tax cuts while slashing Medicaid to help offset some of the costs. Nevertheless, the Congressional Budget Office stated that the legislation will produce an “increase in the federal deficit of $3.8 trillion attributable to tax changes, including extending provisions of the 2017 tax act.”
The measure will now be taken up by the Senate.
Upon taking office, Trump chose Musk to lead the “Department of Government Efficiency,” which, Musk originally said, could find $2 trillion in “savings” by eliminating the proverbial waste, fraud, and abuse. The organization claims it has “saved” $175 billion, but the figure is marred by murky math, as the DOGE website lists only a small portion of the cuts. Over the last several months, DOGE has laid off tens of thousands of federal employees and frozen congressionally-appropriated funds. The moves have spawned a litany of litigation.
On Tuesday, CBS teased an interview with Musk for CBS Sunday Morning, in which the billionaire spoke with show correspondent David Pogue:
MUSK: So, you know, I was like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not decrease it and undermines the work the DOGE team is doing.
POGUE: I actually thought that when this big beautiful bill came along, I mean, like, everything he’s done on DOGE gets wiped out in the first year.
MUSK: I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. But I don’t know if it can be both. My personal opinion.
Musk was a very visible presence at the White House in the first couple of months of Trump’s term, though he has made himself much scarcer. The billionaire reportedly had multiple blowouts with Trump officials.
The Tesla CEO isn’t the only Trump ally disappointed with the legislation. Last week, Steve Bannon said he’s “very upset” by it.
Watch above via CBS.
