Elon Musk slams President Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Elon Musk issued a blistering criticism of the massive Republican bill for President Donald Trump's agenda.

Musk posted on social media about the so-called "big, beautiful bill," calling it a "disgusting abomination." In a follow-up post, Musk said the bill would "massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit."

Musk recently left his position at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he had pledged to massively cut spending.

Republicans who are working to get the bill though Congress say Musk is wrong and passing it is crucial to implementing President Trump's agenda.

"We obviously respect everything that Elon did with DOGE. On this particular issue, we have a difference of opinion, and I think it's rooted in the fact that he's accepting the CBO assumptions that are built upon a static scoring assessment of the effect, the macroeconomic effect, growth effect that these changes will have on our economy.

So, we have a difference of opinion. He's entitled to that opinion, but we're going to proceed full speed ahead.

Well, my hope is that as he has an opportunity to further assess what this bill actually does, that he'll come to a different conclusion. But nevertheless, I mean, we have a job to do. The American people elected us to do. We have an agenda that everybody campaigned on, most notably, the President of the United States, and we're going to deliver on that agenda."

Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Senate Majority Leader

"It's very disappointing. Okay, I've come to consider Elon a good friend. He's obviously a very intelligent person, and he's done a lot of great work. We've applauded all the work they've done with DOGE and identifying fraud, waste and abuse in the government. It's a very important service that's been performed, and we're so excited about it. We're now in the process of codifying that.

But with all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big, beautiful bill. We had a long conversation yesterday. He and I spoke for, I think, more than 20 minutes on the telephone, and I extolled all the virtues of the bill, and he seemed to understand that.

It's not personal. I know that the the EV mandate very important to him, that is going away because the government should not be subsidizing these things. It's part of the green New Deal. And I know that has an effect on his business, and I lament that. We talked about the ramp down period on that and how that should be duly considered by Congress. But for him to come out and pan the whole bill is is, to me, just very disappointing."

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Speaker

The Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said the bill would increase the deficit by $2.3 trillion, with the tax cuts and spending hikes on immigration enforcement on the military outstripping the savings.