House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday that Elon Musk's online blowup against President Trump and his signature big, beautiful bill was disappointing but brushed off questions about the impact of the billionaire's criticism.
Why it matters: Musk's grievances against the president's signature tax-and-spending package have been echoed by some GOP fiscal hawks on Capitol Hill.
"I think it's a shame that he's so depressed and so heartbroken," Trump said of the billionaire in a phone call with NBC News' Kristen Welker.
The big picture: Trump's comments also came with a warning to Musk when the president said the Tesla CEO could face "serious consequences" should he fund Democratic candidates in the next election running against Republicans who vote for Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
Elon Musk might have hundreds of billions of dollars and a social media megaphone, but President Trump's power over the levers of government may put Musk's business empire at much more immediate risk.
The big picture: Virtually everything Musk does has huge regulatory exposure, from cars to spaceflight to neural implants.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump's very public clash is rekindling a debate over gender stereotypes.
Why it matters: The reality is few leaders could get away with feuding on social media. But the debacle revealed competing views about how powerful men — and women — might be expected to communicate.
Republicans are increasingly worried that budget cuts by Elon Musk's DOGE could cost them dearly in November's vote for Virginia governor — an early electoral test of President Trump's policies.
Why it matters: Virginia has one of the highest percentages of federal employees in the country — more than 5% of the state's workforce by some estimates — and Republicans' internal polls are starting to show the damage from tens of thousands of federal layoffs.
