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Legislative bills

Elon Musk Criticizes Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," Worsening Rift Between Former Friends

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The latest indicator of a widening rift between former friends Elon Musk and President Donald Trump is Musk's recent criticism of the President's signature bill, the "One Big Beautiful Bill." Musk expressed his disappointment with the massive spending bill, which he believes increases the budget deficit, rather than decreasing it, and undermines the work of the DOGE team. This criticism comes after Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, and top aide, Stephen Miller, consistently maintained that the bill would not increase the deficit.

Key Takeaways:

  • The One Big Beautiful Bill, which passed the House last week, has been criticized by Elon Musk for increasing the budget deficit and undermining the work of the DOGE team.
  • The Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the tax changes in the bill could increase the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion and $4 trillion, respectively.
  • The Penn-Wharton Budget Model estimated that the bill would cause the deficit to soar by $3.3 trillion over the next 10 years.
  • Stephen Miller dismissed the CBO's analysis as an "accounting gimmick," while Musk expressed his concern that the bill "does not codify the DOGE cuts," as the bill is limited to "mandatory" spending only, which does not include discretionary spending.
  • Elon Musk also expressed his opinion that a bill cannot be both "big" and "beautiful," and that he does not agree with Trump's chosen name for the bill.
  • The rift between Musk and Trump has been growing since Musk failed to deliver a win for Trump in a high-stakes election to fill an empty seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Statistics:

  • The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the tax changes in the bill could increase the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion.
  • Moody's calculated that around $4 trillion would be added to the deficit if Trump's 2017 tax bill, which the massive new legislation makes permanent, is extended.
  • The Penn-Wharton Budget Model estimated that the bill would cause the deficit to soar by $3.3 trillion over the next 10 years.
  • Elon Musk is limited to working only 130 days as a special government employee.

Sources:

  • CBS News: "Elon Musk Disappointed by Trump's Big Beautiful Bill"
  • Roll Call: "Trump Transcript: Press Conference Briefing May 19, 2025"
  • Twitter: Stephen Miller (@StephenM)
  • Congressional Budget Office: "Reconciliation Distributional Analysis"
  • Joint Committee on Taxation: "Report on the Revenue Provisions of the House Reconciliation Bill"
  • Moody's: "Ratings News"
  • Penn-Wharton Budget Model: "House Reconciliation Bill Budget Economic and Distributional Effects May 19, 2025"

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