MUSK GOES OFF THE RESERVATION. Maybe you think it is good, or maybe you think it is bad, but there is no doubt that the “big, beautiful bill” is President Donald Trump‘s top legislative priority right now. It would make the Trump tax cuts, the biggest legislative accomplishment of his first term, permanent. It would make some 2024 campaign promises, such as no taxes on tips, a reality. It would fund a border wall and expand Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and Border Patrol. And much, much more.
Now, Elon Musk, who until last week’s warm-hearted Oval Office goodbye event was one of the president’s most visible team members, is dumping all over it.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk posted Tuesday afternoon. “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.”
If Musk is saying those members of the House who voted for BBB — it passed the House on May 22 — should be ashamed, he must certainly mean that the bill’s main advocate should be ashamed, too. That would be Trump.
Now, all of the president’s opponents will feast on Musk’s opposition to Trump’s top priority. Resistance types will love it because they love it when anyone opposes Trump. Democrats will love it because it highlights divisions among Republicans. And Republicans who oppose BBB will love it because it shows they have support from someone so close to the president.
On that last category, Musk immediately began to retweet statements of support from anti-BBB Republicans. On his page, Musk sent along a post from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who wrote, “I agree with Elon. We have both seen the massive waste in government spending and we know another $5 trillion in debt is a huge mistake.” Just a few hours earlier, Trump had posted on Truth Social that “Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas. His ideas are actually crazy (losers!)” and “The BBB is a big WINNER!!!”
Musk also retweeted the approval of the bill’s only House Republican opponent, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), whom Trump has denounced as a “grandstander.”
At the White House, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt dismissed Musk’s statement with a few words. “The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,” she said. “It doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it.”
At the Capitol, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters he was disappointed by Musk’s statement. “With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big, beautiful bill,” Johnson said.
So, where does this go from here? Musk can certainly say what he wants. But given the formal position he held until recently and the informal position he still holds in the president’s inner circle, he’s just going to end up irritating the president’s top aides, allies, and supporters.
And yes, irritate the president himself. So far, Trump and Musk have kept up the lovefest, and they will probably not come into public conflict over Tuesday’s tweet. But if Musk keeps it up, that could change quickly.