This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/05/elon-musk-trump-tax-bill

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Trump says he is ‘very disappointed’ in Elon Musk after attacks on tax bill Trump says he is ‘very disappointed’ in Elon Musk after attacks on tax bill
(32 minutes later)
Tech boss has turned on his former ally, calling president’s proposed tax and spend legislation ‘the Debt Slavery Bill’Tech boss has turned on his former ally, calling president’s proposed tax and spend legislation ‘the Debt Slavery Bill’
Donald Trump said on Thursday he was “very disappointed” with Elon Musk, after the Tesla CEO and former head of the president’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) continued his attacks on the tax and spending plan Republicans are working to pass through the Senate. A public feud erupted between Donald Trump and Elon Musk on Thursday, with the president saying he was “very disappointed” by the former adviser’s opposition to his top legislative priority, and Musk firing back that Trump would not have won election without his financial support.
Trump accused Musk of turning against the bill because of its provisions revoking incentives for consumers to purchase electric vehicles that had been approved by Congress during Joe Biden’s term. The falling-out came days after Musk had stepped down as head of Trump’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) and then pivoted to attacking the “One Big Beautiful Bill” act, which would extend tax cuts, fund beefed-up immigration enforcement and impose new work requirements for enrollees of federal safety net programs.
“I can understand that, but he knew every aspect of this bill. He knew it better than almost anybody, and he never had a problem until right after he left,” Trump said in the Oval Office as he welcomed the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz. “I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.” While the Tesla CEO has focused his complaints on the price tag of the bill, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates will add $2.4tn to the deficit over the next decade, Trump accused him of turning against it because of provisions revoking incentives for consumers to purchase electric vehicles.
Trump also said at one point: “Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will any more.” “I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot,” Trump said, adding that “he knew every aspect of this bill. He knew it better than almost anybody, and he never had a problem until right after he left.”
Musk almost immediately rejected the president’s statement, writing on X: “False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!” “Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will any more,” the president said.
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” he added. Musk responded almost immediately on X, saying that the president’s comment was “false”, and “this bill was never shown to me even once”. He then pivoted to personal attacks on Trump, after praising him just days earlier in an Oval Office appearance to mark the end of his time leading Doge.
“Such ingratitude.” “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,” he said, responding to a video of Trump’s remarks. “Such ingratitude.”
The tech boss’s criticism has become the latest obstacle facing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the House of Representatives approved last month by a single vote. The bill is expected to extend tax cuts enacted during Trump’s first term in 2017, step up spending on deportations, border fortifications and the military, and impose funding cuts and work requirements on federal safety net programs to partially offset its costs. The tech boss’s criticism has become the latest obstacle facing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the House of Representatives approved last month by a single vote.
The measure is nonetheless expensive, with the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimating it will add $2.4tn to the deficit over the next 10 years. Arguing that cost is unaffordable, Musk has made dozens of posts on X criticizing the proposal in recent days, including referring to it as “the Debt Slavery Bill” and encouraging people to call their lawmakers and ask them to vote against it. The Senate this week began considering the bill, not long after Musk commenced the barrage of tweets over its cost, which he warned would undo Doge’s efforts to save the government money by cancelling programs and pushing federal workers out of their jobs. Musk said he believes the initiative can reduce spending by $1tn, though its own dashboard shows it has saved less than 20% of that amount since Trump was inaugurated.
Musk has also warned it would undo the efforts of Doge, the Trump-sanctioned initiative he stepped down from leading last week after months of directing its layoffs of federal workers and cancellations of programs. So far, the initiative has saved less than 20% of the $1tn Musk said it could cut. House speaker Mike Johnson spent weeks negotiating with his fractious Republican majority to get the bill passed narrowly through his chamber, and on Wednesday said he had been trying to speak with Musk about his concerns. In an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday, he called the Tesla CEO “a good friend” and said the two had exchanged text messages ahead of a call he expected to take place that morning.
The House speaker, Mike Johnson, spent weeks negotiating with his fractious Republican majority to get the bill passed narrowly through his chamber, and on Wednesday said he had been trying to speak with Musk about his concerns. In an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday, he called the Tesla CEO “a good friend” and said the two had exchanged text messages ahead of a call he expected to take place that morning.
“I just want to make sure that he understands what I think everybody on Capitol Hill understands. This is not a spending bill, my friends, this is a a budget reconciliation bill. And what we’re doing here is delivering the America first agenda,” Johnson said.“I just want to make sure that he understands what I think everybody on Capitol Hill understands. This is not a spending bill, my friends, this is a a budget reconciliation bill. And what we’re doing here is delivering the America first agenda,” Johnson said.
“He seems pretty dug in right now, and I can’t quite understand the motivation behind it,” the speaker added.“He seems pretty dug in right now, and I can’t quite understand the motivation behind it,” the speaker added.
The ”big, beautiful bill” is now being considered by the Senate, where Republican leaders have shown no indication that they share Musk’s concerns. Instead, they are eyeing changes to some aspects of the bill that were the result of hard-fought negotiations in the House, and could throw its prospects of passage into jeopardy. The Senate’s Republican leaders have shown no indication that they share Musk’s concerns. Instead, they are eyeing changes to some aspects of the measure that were the result of hard-fought negotiations in the House, and could throw its prospects of passage into jeopardy.
One issue that has reappeared is the deductibility of state and local tax (Salt) payments, which the tax bill passed under Trump in 2017 limited to $10,000 per household. House Republicans representing districts in Democratic-run states that have higher tax burdens managed to get a provision increasing the deduction to $40,000 into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.One issue that has reappeared is the deductibility of state and local tax (Salt) payments, which the tax bill passed under Trump in 2017 limited to $10,000 per household. House Republicans representing districts in Democratic-run states that have higher tax burdens managed to get a provision increasing the deduction to $40,000 into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
But there are almost no Republican senators representing blue states. The majority leader, John Thune, said after a meeting with Trump on Wednesday that his lawmakers were not inclined to keep that provision as they negotiate the bill.But there are almost no Republican senators representing blue states. The majority leader, John Thune, said after a meeting with Trump on Wednesday that his lawmakers were not inclined to keep that provision as they negotiate the bill.
“We also start from a position that there really isn’t a single Republican senator who cares much about the Salt issue. It’s just not an issue that plays,” Thune said.“We also start from a position that there really isn’t a single Republican senator who cares much about the Salt issue. It’s just not an issue that plays,” Thune said.
That could upset the balance of power in the House, where Republicans can lose no more than three votes on any bill. That could upset the balance of power in the House, where Republicans can lose no more than three votes on any bill that passes along party lines.