Elon Musk has triggered a political firestorm after denouncing President Donald Trump’s sprawling tax-and-spending bill as a “disgusting abomination,” warning that the legislation will explode the federal deficit and plunge America deeper into unsustainable debt.
Musk, posting Tuesday on X, the social media platform he owns, blasted the sweeping bill pushed through by Trump’s allies in Congress.
“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” he wrote. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
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The outburst was a sharp turn from the image of partnership the two men projected just days earlier. Musk’s recent role as head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had seemingly cemented his place in Trump’s orbit — a relationship capped by a public send-off at the White House last week, with both men heaping praise on each other. But Tuesday’s post, filled with blunt indignation, marked a rupture.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote in a follow-up post, accusing Congress of exploding the national debt for short-term political wins. “This will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, tried to brush off the remarks: “Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,” she told reporters. “It doesn’t change the President’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it.”
Leavitt went further, attacking the Congressional Budget Office for its projection that the bill would add $3.8 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade.
“We believe the CBO’s math is wrong — and has been biased against Republican-led reforms for years,” she said.
Business Leaders and Lawmakers Rally Around Musk
But while the White House attempted to downplay Musk’s dissent, his post quickly became a rallying cry for fiscal conservatives and disaffected business figures — many of whom believe Musk has exposed the contradiction at the heart of Trump’s fiscal policies.
“Elon is absolutely right,” said Peter Schiff, chief economist at Euro Pacific Capital. “I’m so glad he’s willing to call out the hypocrisy in the Republican Party. He is a man of principle. The Big, Beautiful Bill is a fraud. Hopefully, Elon can persuade Trump to veto it if it passes the Senate in its current form, or anything close to it.”
Senator Rand Paul, who has clashed with Trump in the past over deficit issues, echoed the sentiment. “I agree with Elon. We have both seen the massive waste in government spending and we know another $5 trillion in debt is a huge mistake,” Paul said. “We can and must do better.”
Rep. Thomas Massie, another staunch fiscal hawk, kept his response simple: “He’s right.” Musk replied: “Simple math.”
Even Senator Mike Lee of Utah, a longtime critic of the GOP’s shift toward big-spending populism, stepped in.
“Congress has hollowed out America’s middle class through reckless deficit spending and the inflation it causes,” he posted. “The Uniparty propels this vicious cycle and must be stopped in its tracks.”
A Point of No Return?
The intensity of Musk’s criticism has now fueled speculation that a full break with Trump is imminent. While Musk supported Trump’s re-election bid with over $250 million in campaign contributions and played a key advisory role in the administration’s tech and efficiency agenda, observers say Trump’s well-known intolerance for public dissent means the two men are likely going to break apart.
Musk had already been raising eyebrows in recent weeks for comments suggesting unease with Trump’s handling of tariffs and industrial policy. In a CBS News interview aired Sunday, he said the new budget bill “undermines everything we tried to do with DOGE.”
He’s also had run-ins with senior members of the administration. At various times, Musk openly insulted Trump’s former trade advisor Peter Navarro, and clashed with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over fiscal strategy.
Trump Lashes Out at Dissent
Earlier Tuesday, even before Musk’s post gained steam, Trump had already shown signs of irritation over criticism of the bill. The president lashed out at Senator Paul for denouncing the proposal to raise the debt ceiling, accusing the Kentucky senator of lacking economic vision.
“He doesn’t understand the tremendous GROWTH this bill will generate,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
But Trump’s argument — that the bill will spur growth large enough to outpace the additional debt — is beginning to fall flat even among his loyalists. The CBO’s projection paints a grimmer picture, estimating the bill will deepen the deficit by nearly $4 trillion in ten years, even under favorable economic assumptions.
Musk remains one of the few major Trump allies willing to break ranks publicly. But analysts say his post could mark a tipping point, and if Musk continues to galvanize opposition to the bill, it may be harder for Trump to claim unified support from the business community ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Currently, the Senate is preparing to vote on the bill, but the blowback shows no signs of fading. What once looked like a ceremonial budget victory is now shaping up to be the beginning of an ideological civil war — with Musk, not for the first time, in the middle of it.