Elon Musk slams Trump's 'pork-filled' signature bill

What happened

President Donald Trump Tuesday told Senate Republicans he wants them to pass his multitrillion-dollar "big, beautiful bill" and deliver it to his desk by July 4. But Trump ally and leading donor Elon Musk, who left the administration Friday, urged Republicans to reject the "massive, outrageous, pork-filled" legislation, calling it a "disgusting abomination" in a social media post. "Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong."

Who said what

Musk said in follow-up posts that the bill would "massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit" and "burden" Americans with "crushingly unsustainable debt." Next November, he added, "we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people." Musk's "bombshell attack on Trump's prized megabill marks a dam-breaking moment" in their alliance, Politico said, and his "thinly veiled threat" could "become a financial albatross for the GOP" in the 2026 midterms.

Musk's posts "provided a shot in the arm" for "budget hawks — and Democrats," The Washington Post said, and "appeared to complicate the path to passage for the legislation," which passed in the House by one vote last month "after conservatives revolted over its enormous price tag." The White House and GOP leaders shrugged off Musk's criticism, saying he was angry over green-energy cuts that will harm his businesses.

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Musk is "testing the limits of his political influence," The Associated Press said. Trump "enjoys fierce loyalty among the GOP base," so "in the end, his opinion may be the only one that matters." Still, some of the "Republicans who rallied behind the bill are claiming buyer's remorse about measures they swear they did not know were included" in the 1,037-page legislation, The New York Times said, including limiting the judiciary's ability to hold people in contempt, and a decade-long ban on states regulating AI.

What next?

Senate Republicans will spend the coming weeks deciding which tax breaks and social safety net cuts to change from the House GOP version. The "nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is expected to soon provide an overall analysis" of the bill's financial impact, the AP said, and "Republicans are ready to blast those findings" as "flawed." Independent budget analysts forecast the House version would add between $3 trillion and $5 trillion to the national debt.