Elon Musk criticized President Donald Trump’s signature spending bill, saying it was against the work he’s done recently to accomplish it through House votes and reduce wasted government spending.
In an interview airing on June 1 “CBS Sunday Morning,” the world’s wealthiest people and head of the Advisory Committee of the Bureau of Government Efficiency said that the “big, beautiful bill” would not help the country’s finances.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bills openly. This not only reduces it, it also increases the budget deficit and undermines the work the Doge team is doing,” Musk said in a clip of the program she shares on social media platform X.
Trump responded to criticism from his top campaign donors on Wednesday.
“We had to get it in the house,” Trump said of the massive spending bill. “The house, we didn’t have any Democrats,” he said, endorsing the package.
“I’m not happy with any particular aspect of it,” the president said, “but I’m excited about the other aspects of it. That’s how they do it.”
The congressional Budget Office, a non-party agency that conducts economic analysis of Congress, says a series of big, beautiful bill laws are projected to raise the federal deficit to $3.8 trillion over the next decade. The deficit was on track in 2025 at nearly $2 trillion, with citizen debt currently at $36.2 trillion.
“I think the bill will grow or maybe it’s beautiful, but I don’t know if it’s both,” Musk said in a CBS clip.
Trump and Congressional Republicans refute the bill will reduce spending in key areas and generate sufficient growth to compensate for tax cuts. However, the law is expected to face strong resistance in the Senate.
On his side, Musk pulled back his doge work. Tesla and SpaceX. Musks have been a frequent presence in the White House since Trump’s election.
“Doge has become a whip boy for everything,” Musk said in an interview with the Washington Post Tuesday. “So something bad will happen everywhere and we’ll blame it if it had nothing to do with it.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. praised Doge and Musk for their work on Wednesday.
“The house is enthusiastic and ready to act on Doge’s findings, so it can deliver even more cuts to the massive government that the President (Donald) wants and demands from Americans,” Johnson wrote in X’s post.
However, before the House votes to approve the cuts, the White House will need to formally request permission to cancel some of the money Congress has set up for certain programs.
“When the White House sends its retirement package to the House, we will act quickly by passing laws to codify the cuts,” Johnson said, using the term Congress-sanctioned White House requests.
Despite Johnson’s cheerful tone, dramatic cuts and federal workforce against Musk and Doge’s government grant programs have been met with resistance in Congress.
Doge says it has saved $170 billion in taxpayer money since it began in January by targeting government waste and redundancy.
But what counts as wasted spending has proven to be a deeply divisive issue.
In February and March alone, Doge-related moves were responsible for around 275,000 government layoffs, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas and Christmas Challenger.
Musk’s work with Trump, and his frequently inflammatory political rhetoric, have led to backlash and widespread protest against his automotive business, Tesla.
“People were burning Teslas. Why do you do that? It’s really not cool,” Musk told the Post.
– CNBC’s Erin Doherty and Lora Kolodny contributed.
