Musk slams tax bill, terms it 'disgusting abomination'

NEW YORK — Elon Musk on Tuesday dropped a bomb by casting US President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" as a "disgusting abomination".

In his posts on the social platform X, Musk, who left his leading position at the Department of Government Efficiency a few days ago, said: "I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore."

"This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it."

"Congress is making America bankrupt," he added. "In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people."

The "One, Big, Beautiful Bill", as described by Trump, is a legislative package that includes a variety of provisions, focusing on tax cuts and spending cuts, as well as provisions like no tax on tips or overtime, increased child tax credits, and cuts to the federal deficit. The bill also includes provisions related to border security, energy exploration, and welfare reform.

According to a CNN report, some White House officials said they were caught off guard by the harsh remarks. While Musk's sentiments on the bill were no secret to senior staff in the West Wing, they weren't expecting him to take such a strong public stance.

House Speaker Mike Johnson brushed off Musk's criticism, telling reporters Tuesday on Capitol Hill that Musk was "terribly wrong about the one big, beautiful bill".

"For him to come out and pan the whole bill is to me just very disappointing, very surprising," Johnson said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also dismissed Musk's criticism on Tuesday.

"Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill," Leavitt said at the White House press briefing. "It doesn't change the president's opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he's sticking to it."

The bill passed last month in the House by a 215-214 vote, and is waiting for senators' deliberation. Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he disagreed with Musk's assessment about the cost of the bill and stood by the goal of passage by July 4.

"We have a job to do — the American people elected us to do. We have an agenda that everybody campaigned on, most notably the president of the United States, and we're going to deliver on that agenda," the South Dakota lawmaker told reporters.

The July 4th deadline is not only aspirational for the president, it's all but mandatory for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has warned Congress that the nation will run out of money to pay its bills if the debt ceiling, now at $36 trillion, is not lifted by mid-July or early August to allow more borrowing, The Associated Press reported. Bessent has also been meeting behind closed doors with senators and GOP leadership.

Xinhua - Agencies