By Amanda Castro/ Newsweek/ June 3, 2025

Elon Musk launched a scathing attack on President Donald Trump‘s marquee spending proposal Tuesday, calling the so-called “big, beautiful bill” a “disgusting abomination” in a series of posts on X. Musk, who leads the White House’s Deficit Optimization & Government Efficiency (DOGE) office, said the bill is packed with “outrageous pork” and accused lawmakers of knowingly voting for legislation that would balloon the federal deficit.

The comments were posted just as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt held a press briefing. She dismissed Musk’s earlier remarks to CBS about his disapproval of the bill, saying, “The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill.” The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the legislation would add $2.5 trillion to the deficit over the next decade.

Musk’s public rebuke marks a rare and obvious break with the Trump administration’s legislative agenda. His opposition complicates GOP efforts to unify support behind the spending bill. His criticism also raises questions about the direction of federal budget policy and the credibility of cost-cutting efforts led by DOGE.

The controversy could deepen divisions within the Republican Party, as fiscal conservatives weigh the political risk of crossing Trump against mounting concerns over national debt.

In a string of posts, Musk didn’t mince words. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” he wrote. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong.”

According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the proposed legislation would increase the federal deficit by $2.5 trillion over 10 years, largely due to tax cut extensions and campaign pledges such as eliminating taxes on tips.

“Congress is making America bankrupt,” Musk wrote, warning that the bill will leave American taxpayers saddled with “crushingly unsustainable debt.”