Musk lashes out over spending bill
When Musk joined forces with Trump, I warned everyone that I saw an ugly conclusion to this relationship. I gave it about six months, and I almost hit that on the number.
Now that Musk has left the administration, he is no longer holding his tongue regarding Trump’s big spending bill. His words have created panic in the Senate and a defensive posture in the House.
Disgusting
Musk did not hold back on X, ripping the new spending bill on Tuesday.
He wrote, "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."
The White House responded, "Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn't change the president's opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill and he's sticking to it.”
Senate concerns
With Musk’s pushback, there are now GOP members of the Senate who are raising concerns about the bill and how it is being perceived.
For instance, Senator Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) stated, "The legislation, as passed by the House, can be approved here in the Senate, can be strengthened in the Senate, in a number of ways.
"We intend to do that, but when it's all said and done, we'll send it back to the House and hope that they can pass it and put it on the president's desk."
This comes after Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) have all pushed back against the bill, with Paul believing they have enough support to block it.
Johnson Says Musk is Wrong
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is also taking a defensive posture, saying that Musk is just wrong about the bill.
He stated, “With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big, beautiful bill.”
From the reports I have read on the legislation, and most of this is coming from concerned GOP senators, the biggest concerns are the massive increase to the debt ceiling and the trillions in budget deficits this bill includes.
We should not be passing a bill that is not 100% paid for, and this bill does not do that. It has far too many variables right now, and until they are addressed, I just don’t see this bill getting enough support to pass.