Barely days after stepping down as head of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), billionaire Elon Musk has launched a blistering critique of a massive new federal spending bill backed by the Trump administration.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk called the bill a “disgusting abomination,” sharply condemning it for bloating the national deficit and including what he described as excessive and unnecessary expenditures.
“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk wrote. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong.”
The legislation, dubbed by Trump as a “big, beautiful bill,” is projected to add $3 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade, despite slashing critical social welfare programmes including healthcare and food aid.
The measure has drawn increasing scrutiny from economic analysts, and now from one of Trump’s most prominent former allies.
Musk had previously expressed measured concerns about the bill while serving in his federal role, warning that it undermined DOGE’s cost-cutting goals.
But his tone shifted significantly on Tuesday, signaling growing tensions between the tech mogul and the president.
“This bill will burden citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt,” Musk warned.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, responding swiftly to Musk’s comments, dismissed the criticism: “The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill, it doesn’t change his opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it.”
Musk’s rebuke came as a stark departure from the praise that accompanied his resignation just last week. Trump had commended Musk’s “incredible service,” insisting at the time, “He’s really not leaving,” despite a turbulent four-month tenure during which Musk and his DOGE team aggressively pushed for sweeping federal spending cuts.
Under Musk’s leadership, DOGE eliminated tens of thousands of government jobs, shut down entire agencies, and drastically reduced foreign aid.
His tenure was marked by a high-profile ideological drive to slash government expenditures, an effort that was as controversial as it was ambitious.
Despite lofty targets of saving $2 trillion, DOGE has reported taxpayer savings of $175 billion, or roughly eight percent of that goal, a figure that watchdogs have challenged.
Independent analysts at the “Musk Watch DOGE Tracker” peg the actual, verifiable savings at just $16 billion, less than one percent of the promised amount.
As Musk exited the political stage, he returned to mounting pressure from shareholders at Tesla and SpaceX. Tesla is grappling with declining sales and rising protests, while SpaceX has endured a spate of rocket failures in recent months.
The falling out between Musk and Trump capped a once-close relationship. Musk was frequently seen accompanying Trump on Air Force One, Marine One, and at high-profile gatherings at Mar-a-Lago. Their partnership helped solidify a new era of billionaire-backed governance, but that alliance now appears to be unraveling under the weight of political and economic realities.
