May 27, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Musk "disappointed" in Trump's "big, beautiful bill"

Rebecca Falconer

Elon Musk looks on during a cabinet meeting hosted by US President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 24, 2025, in Washington, DC. — Elon Musk at the White House in March. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk said President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" "undermines" DOGE's cost-cutting, per an excerpt of CBS News' interview with the businessman that was released Tuesday.

Why it matters: Musk has been a key Trump ally during the president's second term after donating millions of dollars to his 2024 election campaign, leading efforts to reduce government spending until the Tesla CEO stepped back from DOGE after the EV firm's sales took a hit from his close ties to the administration.

Vice President JD Vance said last month the world's richest person would remain a "friend and an adviser" to the White House and Musk attended South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's meeting with Trump last week.

Driving the news: Musk told "CBS Sunday Morning" he was "disappointed to see the massive spending" bill that passed in the House last week, according to an excerpt the network shared of the interview.

He said in the interview that airs Sunday it "frankly ... increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing."
Musk added: "I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both. My personal opinion."

Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment Tuesday evening.

Context: The bill would extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts and aims to reduce $1.5 trillion in federal spending, with proposed cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP.

Go deeper: Sen. Johnson predicts he has enough Senate allies to hold up the "big, beautiful bill"

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Musk "disappointed" in Trump's "big, beautiful bill"

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