The bill would add $1.75 trillion through 2029, the CBO estimated.
A sweeping GOP bill to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda that passed the House last month would add more than $2.4 trillion to the national debt by 2034, according to an estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released on June 4.
The legislation, called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, would make the 2017 tax cuts permanent, raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, and include provisions related to securing the border and unleashing American energy. It includes no taxes on tips or overtime and would tax university endowments at certain thresholds. It is now pending before the Senate.
The bill would add an estimated $1.75 trillion through 2029, according to the CBO. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) dismissed the CBO estimate.
“I think there are some people that start reading too many Congressional Budget Office reports and ignore the lessons of history,” he said at a press conference on June 4. “And there’s an old saying that if you ignore the lessons of history, you’re doomed to repeat it.”
Scalise said that the CBO has “always” been wrong when it comes to making economic prognostications such as when it came to the 2017 Trump tax reform and cuts.
Billionaire Elon Musk has called the bill an “abomination.”
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” he posted on the social media platform X. “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.”
Musk subsequently posted that the legislation “will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he spoke with Musk on June 2 about the reconciliation bill.
“We don’t take it personal,“ said Johnson. ”I think he’s flat wrong.”
Johnson said Musk did not answer the phone when he called him on June 3.
“I think he’s understands … the debt cliff is approaching,” Johnson said.
Trump, said Johnson, is “not delighted” by Musk’s comments.
