Elon Musk criticizes Trump's bill for undermining his cost-cutting efforts at DOGE.
Donald Trump made it clear from the White House on Wednesday that he has no regrets about his latest tax bill, even after sharp public complaints from his so-called best friend Elon Musk.
The president dismissed Elon’s criticism during a press conference, saying the administration needed broad Republican backing in Congress to pass the legislation. “Number one, we have to get a lot of votes,” Trump told reporters. “We can’t be cutting — you know, we need, we need to get a lot of support.”
The negative reaction came after Elon told CBS News that he was “disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, that increases the budget deficit, not decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.”
According to CBS, Elon expressed frustration with how the bill undermines his Department of Government Efficiency — or DOGE — which he has led since January in a high-profile attempt to reduce wasteful federal spending.
Elon calls the bill wasteful, Trump defends the compromises.
Elon did not hold back in describing Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which combines drastic tax cuts with an increase in funding for the military and border security.
I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful,” said Elon, “but I don't know if it can be both.” His statement echoed warnings from budget analysts who say the bill could widen the deficit by trillions over the next decade.
The bill passed through the House last week but faces major changes in the Senate to win the support of skeptical Republicans. Trump admitted he is not happy with everything in the bill, saying, “We’re going to negotiate that bill, and I’m not happy with certain aspects of it, but I’m excited about other aspects of it.
That’s how it goes.” He emphasized that tax cuts were the centerpiece of the legislation. “The level of tax cuts that we’re going to do,” he said, was what made the whole deal worth it.
DOGE, under Elon's leadership, claims to have saved $170 billion in taxpayer money since January by closing redundant departments and cutting staff across multiple agencies.
The U.S. Agency for International Development was dismantled, and other offices saw massive staff reductions. A report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas estimated that 275,000 jobs have been cut from the federal government due to reforms linked to DOGE.
DOGE's numbers face scrutiny as Elon pulls back from government.
Not everyone buys Elon’s math. The Associated Press previously reported that 40% of government contracts canceled by DOGE were not expected to save real money for the Treasury. In February, The New York Times noted that DOGE quietly removed five of its most promoted savings claims from its own website.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Trump's bill would increase the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion over the next ten years. In 2025 alone, the deficit is expected to approach $2 trillion, with the national debt currently at $36.2 trillion.
Despite these projections, Trump and congressional Republicans insist that the bill will trigger enough economic growth to offset the impact of the tax cuts.
Elon, for his part, is stepping back. During Tesla's first-quarter earnings call, he said he plans to reduce his involvement in DOGE and spend more time running Tesla, SpaceX, and X. Still, he plans to maintain a small office in the White House and dedicate “a day or two a week” to DOGE tasks until the end of Trump’s term.
Speaking with The Washington Post, Elon said he underestimated how bad federal bureaucracy really was. “It’s much worse than I realized,” he said.
DOGE became the scapegoat for everything.” His alliance with Trump and public comments have also sparked intense protests against Tesla. “People were burning Teslas,” Elon told the Post. “Why would you do that? That’s really not cool.”
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