“DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything,” Musk said. “So, like, something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it.”
Musk’s opposition to Trump’s signature tax bill represents a second major split between him and the president on policy, after he took issue with the government’s planned tariff regime, which has now been scaled back.
In that case, Musk directed his ire at Trump’s senior trade adviser Peter Navarro, calling him “dumber than a sack of bricks” and “truly a moron”, and repeatedly branding him “Peter Retarrdo” in posts on X.
The White House brushed aside that skirmish as a case of “boys will be boys”. But Musk’s comments on the tax bill could add weight to criticism from small government Republicans, with the bill not guaranteed to pass the Senate.
Kentucky senator Rand Paul said the bill would “explode the debt”, which sits at about $US37 trillion. “Until everyone in Washington gets serious about paying down our national debt, I’m a no,” he said.
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Trump ignored a question about Musk’s critique on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), but noted the bill would need nearly every Republican vote to pass the Senate. “I’m not happy about certain aspects of [the bill] but I’m thrilled about other aspects,” he said.
Last week, Musk also indicated he would pull back or cease his massive spending on Republican political causes. He spent close to $US300 million on the 2024 election, including Trump and GOP-backed candidates, and sank another $US20 million into a judicial race in Wisconsin this year.
“I’m going to do a lot less in the future,” he told the Qatari Economic Forum. “I think I’ve done enough.”
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