President Donald Trump defended his administration's marquee tax and spending package on Wednesday after Elon Musk, his top campaign donor and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, publicly criticized the legislation for inflating the national deficit.
"We will be negotiating that bill, and I'm not happy about certain aspects of it, but I'm thrilled by other aspects of it," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We're going to see what happens. It's got a way to go."
The $3.8 trillion plan, dubbed the "big, beautiful bill" by Trump and his allies, cleared the House last week by a narrow margin. It now faces intense scrutiny in the Senate, where even some Republicans have expressed concerns over its fiscal impact. The bill would add to the federal government's $36.2 trillion debt over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Musk, speaking on CBS's Sunday Morning, said: "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill. It increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing." He added pointedly, "I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. But I don't know if it can be both."
The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has contributed nearly $292 million to political causes during the 2024 election cycle, making him the largest single donor. He was appointed by Trump in February to lead DOGE, a new department tasked with slashing federal waste. The department claims to have saved taxpayers billions, though its website has faced criticism for inaccuracies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson praised DOGE's work in a post on X Wednesday, writing: "@ElonMusk and the entire @DOGE team have done INCREDIBLE work exposing waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government... The House is eager and ready to act on DOGE's findings."
Johnson also reiterated that Congress would respond to the White House's forthcoming rescissions package, a formal proposal to codify spending cuts identified by DOGE. "The House will use the appropriations process to swiftly implement President Trump's 2026 budget," Johnson added.
Musk's opposition to the bill highlights growing tensions between the tech mogul and GOP leadership. In recent weeks, Musk has also criticized Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs, which disrupted supply chains critical to his businesses. "Compared to solar, oil is small-time," he wrote on social media Tuesday, challenging Trump's pro-fossil fuel stance.
Only two House Republicans-Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio-voted against the bill. Davidson, echoing Musk's concerns, reposted the CBS interview and commented: "Hopefully, the Senate will succeed with the Big Beautiful Bill where the House missed the moment."
