White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded Tuesday to former Trump committee staffer Elon Musk calling the administration’s new spending bill a “disgusting abomination” that is “outrageous” and “pork-filled,” telling members of the press that the tech mogul’s opinion doesn’t change a thing.
“The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill, it doesn’t change the president’s opinion,” Leavitt said, responding to Fox News’ Peter Doocy who asked “how mad” President Trump would be over Musk’s criticism of the bill. “This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s stickin’ too it.”
Watch the moment below:
Musk said in a tweet Tuesday “shame on those” congress members who voted for President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” which the Tesla and SpaceX boss called a “disgusting abomination.”
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns. “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.”
Soon after, he added in a separate X post that the bill will add $2.5 trillion the U.S. deficit and burden Americans with “crushingly unsustainable debt.”
This is the second time Musk has criticized the bill in the last week. Last Tuesday, Musk said he was “disappointed” in the bill and felt the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE.), which he spearheaded for Trump until May 30, had become a political “whipping boy.”
His comments on Tuesday stand out, considering it comes just a few days after Trump gave Musk a warm send-off from the White House, as HIS 130-day term with his Administration came to an end. The president called Musk an “incredible patriot” during the joint press conference from the Oval Office and applauded him for his work with leading DOGE; he also gave Musk a gold key to the White House.
Musk has said in recent months DOGE would ideally cut $1 trillion-$2 trillion from the annual federal budget, and as of Friday, DOGE has estimated it has cut $175 billion.
“This is not the end of DOGE, but really the beginning,” Musk, while donning a black DOGE hat and a black shirt saying “The Dogefather,” said at the press conference.
He said the DOGE team will “only grow stronger” in the years ahead, as its influence begins “permeating throughout the government.”
“It’s sort of like Buddhism; it’s like a way of life,” Musk said.
