The world’s wealthiest person and the US president exchanged shaming for Donald Trump’s tax cuts and spending bills.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has reinforced his criticism of President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and spending bills and updated his call for new political parties.
Musk’s criticism of Trump’s 940-page “Big, Beautiful Bill” suggests tax credits and cuts to healthcare and food programs, which have come across strong criticism from some members of Democrats and Trump’s Republicans.
In early June, Musk, a donor to a major campaign to Trump and a former Key aide, called the bill “nasty hatred,” leading to his departure from the Republican president.
The two then appeared to have cooled the tension, and Trump told reporters he wanted Musk well, but the latter wrote that he regretted “going too far” to X.
But when the U.S. senators gathered to vote for amendments to the bill on Monday, Musk once again campaigned to bolster his criticism and cut spending, but lawmakers who supported the bill said “we should be embarrassed and hang on our heads!”
“And if that’s the last thing I do on this planet, they’ll lose their primary next year,” Musk said.
Tesla and SpaceX CEOs have called for new political parties, saying the large spending on the bill “shows that we are living in one party country.”
“Time for a new political party that actually cares about people,” he wrote.
Trump’s Doge proposal
Trump returned to Mask on Tuesday, saying that the Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk previously led, should review the grants received by businesses in Mask, and should save the federal government “big” money.
“Elon may get more subsidies than any other person in history, without subsidies, but Elon will likely have to close his shop and return to South Africa. There will be no more rocket launches, satellites, or electric vehicles.
In response to Trump’s post, Musk posted on his own platform, saying, “I’m literally saying I’m cutting it all out. Now.”
Throwing debt caps is actually the only thing that forces the government to reduce waste and fraud.
That’s why the debt cap law exists!
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 1, 2025
It remains unclear how much shaking Musk has in the US Congress or how his statement will affect the passage of the bill.
However, Republicans have expressed concern that his only, repeated feud with Trump could undermine his chances of protecting a majority in the 2026 medium-term Congressional election.
Bill Schneider, a professor of public policy at George Mason University, told Al Jazeera that it would be difficult to establish a viable political coalition of opponents of the bill.
“Elon Musk is a billionaire. Even if you’re unhappy with President Trump, there aren’t enough billionaires to form a party in the United States,” Schneider told Al Jazeera in Washington, DC.
“Now he has problems with Trump, who is not a very popular figure. He has many critics among many enemies, especially women in the US,” he added.
“Republicans who are likely to support this particular bill are very concerned about how much debt is being created due to the enormous tax cuts. Democrats are concerned about the dangers to the safety net. It’s difficult to bring these two districts together into one political party.”
