In his first term, Donald Trump approved a tax cut for the country's highest earners. This year, those taxes should return to their previous levels unless the cuts are extended as part of a broader tax reform, a project that Trump, in his particular style, has dubbed the Big Beautiful Bill. The president and his team have supported it, despite assessments predicting a $3.8 trillion deficit by 2034 and a growing debt.
After all kinds of lobbying, pressure, and threats (political from the White House, even physical from the most radical MAGA circles), the House of Representatives approved it, but by just one vote, 215 to 214. The ball is now in the Senate's court, and while Trump repeats the strategy, personally lobbying Republican senators to secure the necessary support, he has encountered two serious problems. The first being Senator Rand Paul, son of the legendary liberal congressman Ron Paul, a libertarian opposed to public spending who not only will not vote in favor but is trying in every way to prevent the approval of this 'Beautiful Bill', as he did with tariffs. "There are four of us who think this way," he said today about his conservative colleagues who might vote against the bill.
The second unexpected problem is Elon Musk. The world's richest man, who last Friday staged a friendly departure from the government with Trump, from the Oval Office, filled with praise, backslaps, and promises of future friendship and understanding, has once again criticized the tax proposal with increasingly aggressive language. If last week he said he was "disappointed" by "the huge spending bill that increases the budget deficit, rather than reducing it, and undermines the work being done by the DOGE team," this time he called it a "disgusting abomination."
In a message on X, his social media platform, Trump wrote on Tuesday, seeking to undermine the president's efforts to secure the 51 votes needed in a Senate where Republicans hold the majority, that he is very sorry, but "I can't take it anymore. This massive, scandalous, and full of superfluous spending congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. What a shame for those who voted for it! They know they did wrong. They know it," he said directly appealing to the congressmen who approved it, thus targeting the senators who must now do the same.
White House spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, downplayed the impact of the statements in her daily press briefing: "The president is aware of Elon Musk's stance on this bill. This does not change his opinion. The president's opinion is that this is a big and beautiful bill, and he supports it." But these tweets are not insignificant. Beyond the public attention of a message of this caliber, something Musk is fully aware of, the second derivative has to do with money. Since the billionaire joined the campaign and later the president's team, the message to conservative politicians had been very clear: anyone who did not unequivocally support any proposal, decision, or appointment by Trump would be politically punished, forcing primaries in the next elections to remove them from their position. The MAGA movement would choose the candidate, and Musk would provide the funds to ensure their defeat.
However, he has now attacked the Republican Party in general, spreading messages from his followers accusing lawmakers of "spending millions on luxury hotels in Ukraine," "not voting for any DOGE cuts," the "government efficiency" department that Musk himself led, or "spending 60% of their vacation time."
The owner of X, Tesla, xSpace, and many other companies is distancing himself from this line by aggressively criticizing the harmful effects of this legislative proposal. When Musk recently stated that it would increase the deficit, the White House's response was that he "did not understand" how laws work. "It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit by $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden American citizens with overwhelmingly unsustainable debt," he reiterated shortly after in a second message.
Throughout the Washington midday, Musk also shared Senator Paul's messages, creating a powerful alliance. "I agree with Elon. Both of us have seen the massive waste of public spending and know that another $5 trillion in debt is a serious mistake. We can and should do better," the politician said in a new step in his clash with the administration. "I want tax cuts to be permanent, but I also want the bill to eliminate the five trillion dollars of new debt. At least four of us in the Senate share this opinion," he warned.