White House press secretary says Elon Musk’s view ‘doesn’t change the president’s opinion.’
Tech billionaire and former White House adviser Elon Musk on Tuesday criticized a budget bill backed by congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump, drawing a response from the administration.
In a post on X, Musk said the bill will cause the U.S. budget deficit to skyrocket.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” he wrote in a post on 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.”
I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 3, 2025
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.
In a follow-up post, Musk said that the budget reconciliation package, which is called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, “will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
The critical comments come just days after Musk departed the administration as leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a task force designed to target fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government.
Musk’s post appeared to draw on estimates from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget that were released in May, saying that the bill could add $2.5 trillion to the deficit over the coming decade. It would also add $3.1 trillion to the national debt including interest, according to the estimate.
When asked about Musk’s comments, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated that the Trump administration won’t back off supporting the bill.
“Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn’t change the president’s opinion,“ she told reporters Tuesday. ”This is one big beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it.”
The Republican-backed bill passed in the House of Representatives last month by a single vote, with all Democrats opposed, and is now being considered by the Senate. Some GOP senators have indicated they may not support the measure, which would cut taxes, increase military and border spending, and scale back on Medicaid.
Republican leaders on Tuesday responded to Musk’s comment, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) telling reporters that Musk “is terribly wrong” about the measure and that he spoke with him over the phone about the legislation.
“I extolled all the virtues of the bill, and he seemed to understand that. We had a very friendly conversation about it,” Johnson said.
