Johnson, Thune push back on Musk’s megabill criticism
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Elon Musk rips GOP spending bill; Speaker Mike Johnson fires back
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, wrote a letter to the secretary of state. In the letter, he said he was concerned about a possible violation of his constitutional rights. The letter also asked for information on the alleged violation of the president’s right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The president’s letter is the latest in a series of letters from the president to the secretaries of state and defense to the White House. The White House has not commented on the latest letter, but has said it is looking into the matter. The U.S. has a long history of being a leader in the fight against terrorism, according to the U.N. World Health Organization.
“This morning, I took the formal step in what will be a long fight: I asked the government’s watchdogs to investigate how Donald Trump is using the presidency to punish dissent — starting with me,” Taylor wrote on Substack.
Taylor, an outspoken critic of the president who worked at the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s first term, said his request to the inspectors general at the Homeland Security and Justice departments is about safeguarding the constitutional rights of every American.
“This is about whether the president — any president, from any political party — can order revenge investigations with the stroke of a pen,” Taylor wrote.
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Taylor’s move comes after Trump targeted Taylor in a presidential memorandum in April that alleged Taylor was an “egregious leaker,” accused him of potentially “treasonous” actions and ordered authorities to review his conduct while in government.
The inspectors general for the departments did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.
In the letter to the inspectors general, Taylor’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said Trump’s memorandum was unprecedented in American history because “it explicitly targets a single individual” for government scrutiny.
“To be clear, we are requesting your Offices do what you are charged with doing — addressing and preventing abuses of power,” Lowell wrote.
Taylor’s case raises “a foundational question of whether, in the United States of America, the machinery of the federal government can be inappropriately deployed against a private citizen in retaliation for exercising constitutionally protected free speech,” he wrote.
The letter asks the inspectors general to investigate whether the Homeland Security or Justice departments have taken actions that constitute retaliation, abuse of authority or violations of Taylor’s constitutional rights. It also asks if any career official has raised objections or concerns about the legality or ethical propriety of carrying out the April 9 presidential memo.
In two presidential memos issued on April 9, Trump singled out Taylor and another former senior official, Chris Krebs, revoking their security clearances and ordering the attorney general to review their actions in government.
Since then, government authorities have contacted Taylor’s former high school classmates and others associated with him, Taylor told NBC News in an interview last month.
“I have seen indications that they are out there, rummaging through my past, talking to people as far back as high school and trying to comb through my life,” he said.
The memorandum forced Taylor to effectively stop working as a cybersecurity consultant, his family has had to adopt elaborate safety precautions because of online threats directed at him, and some friends and associates have distanced themselves from him to avoid possible retribution by the administration, Taylor and his lawyer said.
Asked for comment, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson sent a statement reiterating the accusation in the presidential memorandum that Taylor disclosed sensitive information “through unauthorized methods” and attacking Taylor, calling him “a bad faith actor” and saying he should be “embarrassed.”
Taylor has denied any wrongdoing and said he “assiduously upheld my national security obligations.”
‘Shame on those who voted for it’: Musk calls Trump’s mega-bill ‘a disgusting abomination’
Elon Musk has criticised Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill. The bill is projected to increase the national debt by US$3.8 trillion. Musk left his formal role in the administration last week as his time as a special government employee with the Department of Government Efficiency came to an end. The House of Representatives last month passed the bill by one vote after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the measure would add $5.8trillion to the federal government’s debt. Musk’s criticism is fuelling party debate over Republican spending priorities in the U.S. House of Reps representatives who opposed the measure went to Musk’s social platform X to endorse his message.
The bill is projected to increase the national debt by US$3.8 trillion ($5.8 trillion).
Despite leaving his formal role, Musk’s criticism is fuelling party debate over Republican spending priorities.
Elon Musk called United States President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill a “disgusting abomination” that will increase the federal deficit in social media posts that hardline Republicans quickly embraced.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” the billionaire Musk wrote in an X post.
“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.”
The House of Representatives last month passed the bill by one vote after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the measure — which would extend the 2017 tax cuts that were Trump’s main legislative accomplishment in his first term — would add US$3.8 trillion ($5.8 trillion) to the federal government’s US$36.2 trillion ($56 trillion) in debt.
The Senate, also controlled by Trump’s Republicans, aims to pass the measure titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” in the next month, though senators are expected to revise the House-passed version of the bill.
‘My friend Elon is terribly wrong’
House speaker Mike Johnson and Senate majority leader John Thune said Musk’s calculations were in error.
“It’s very disappointing,” Johnson told reporters. “With all due respect, my friend Elon [Musk] is terribly wrong.”
But two House Republicans — representatives Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson — who opposed the measure, went to Musk’s social platform X to endorse his message.
“The Big Beautiful Tweet,” Davidson said while reposting Musk’s words.
Senator Mike Lee, one of at least four hardline Republicans pushing for deeper spending cuts, also supported Musk in a tweet that called on party members to use the Trump bill and future spending measures to reduce the deficit.
“We must commit now to doing so, as this is what voters justifiably expect — and indeed deserve — from the GOP [Grand Old Party] Congress,” the Utah Republican said on X.
Trump appointed Musk, the world’s richest person, to lead a government cost-cutting and efficiency drive, during which he upended several federal agencies but ultimately failed to deliver the massive savings he had sought.
Musk left his formal role in the administration last week as his time as a special government employee with the Department of Government Efficiency came to an end.
Musk sends Republicans into chaos as he shreds Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ — ‘He doesn’t get to vote’
Musk sends Republicans into chaos as he shreds Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ — ‘He doesn’t get to vote’ The Republicans in the upper chamber are planning to write their version of the massive domestic legislation bill that includes extending the 2017 tax cuts Trump signed, beefed up spending at the U.S.-Mexico border and oil drilling as well as massive changes to the social safety net in the United States. Republicans have pushed back on the estimate that the bill would raise the debt by $3.8 trillion, which is below the 60-seat threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. Musk recently exited the Trump administration after a long tenure as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Some Republicans sought to ignore it, while others said they had not seen the tweet and did not know what to make of Musk’s remarks.. “I ain’t got any thoughts on that,” Tommy Tuberville, a staunch ally of Trump, said of the Musk posting.
Musk sends Republicans into chaos as he shreds Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ — ‘He doesn’t get to vote’
Senate Republicans were in their luncheon as they begin the process to take up President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” when Elon Musk blasted the legislation as an “outrageous, pork-filled, disgusting abomination.”
The Republicans in the upper chamber are planning to write their version of the massive domestic legislation bill that includes extending the 2017 tax cuts Trump signed, beefed up spending at the U.S.-Mexico border and oil drilling as well as massive changes to the social safety net in the United States.
But just before Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the rest Republican leadership were about to begin their press conference, Musk, the just-departed head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, raged against the bill on X.
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“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” he posted. “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.”
Some Republicans sought to ignore it. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa — who recently came under criticism for dismissing constituents concerned over Medicaid cuts at a local town hall with her response, “Well, we’re all going to die” — brushed off a question from The Independent as she exited the Capitol and got into her car.
Sen. Rick Scott said he had not read the Musk tweet, a common refrain from politicians not wishing to discuss a hot topic. When The Independent offered to show it to him, he brushed it off.
“I want to get the tax cuts permanent, the border money, the military, but we’ve got to get spending under control,” Scott, an ally of Trump, told The Independent. “So I’m going to continue to work to bring down the deficit, to hopefully balance the budget the next three years.”
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Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has in the past called for steeper cuts in the bill and praised Musk’s comments, saying it “bolsters” the points he made.
“The only way I know how to do this is lay out the facts and figures and win the argument,” Johnson told The Independent.
Others, such as Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Katie Britt of Alabama, both members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told The Independent they had not seen the tweet.
Alabama’s other Republican senator — Tommy Tuberville, a staunch ally of Trump — brushed off Musk’s criticism.
“I ain’t got any thoughts on that,” Tuberville said of the Musk posting. “We got a lot of work to do. He doesn’t get to vote.”
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, who spent weeks corralling various factions within the House GOP conference before he passed it in the wee hours of the morning last month before the House broke for recess, pushed back on Musk’s criticism.
“It’s very disappointing,” Johnson told reporters. “With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
Other Republican senators made jokes about Musk’s remarks.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk, pictured on his last day as head of DOGE, posted about President Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill.’’ (Getty)
“Does that mean he likes it?” Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio told The Independent. “I think he’s probably buying into the CBO scoring model, but look, ultimately, we haven’t even gotten the bill yet right so we’re gonna make it better.”
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The Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan body in Congress that scores how much legislation costs, estimated that extending the tax cuts in the bill would raise the debt by $3.8 trillion. But Republicans have pushed back on the estimate.
Republicans have only 53 Senate seats, which is below the 60-seat threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. As a result, they hope to pass the bill through a process reconciliation, which allows them to pass legislation with a simple majority as long it relates to the budget.
Musk recently exited the Trump administration after a months-long tenure at DOGE, where he slashed federal spending at numerous government agencies, including the US Agency for International Development.
Other Republicans said they would work to improve the bill.
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“He’s certainly entitled his opinion,” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who faces a tough primary challenge in Texas. “And we’re trying to make the bill better.”
The bill is not the first time that Musk has wielded his significant following on X, the site then-known as Twitter that he purchased in 2022, to intervene in congressional affairs. In late 2024, he killed a bipartisan spending deal to keep the government open and said that the government should remain closed until Trump’s swearing in.
Musk pledged he would challenge any Republicans who voted for the bill.
“In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,” he said.
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Even Republicans who criticized the bill seemed to balk at Musk’s intervention. When Musk tweeted “Congress is making America bankrupt,” Paul tweeted “Some of us are trying to stop that.”
But when The Independent asked if Paul had seen Musk’s first tweet, he said “I haven’t seen it” as he exited and got into an elevator.
Later, Paul tweeted an article about his and Musk opposing the bill
Musk slams Republican megabill; Johnson shoots back
Elon Musk called President Donald Trump’s megabill a “disgusting abomination” on X, the social media platform he owns. The Tesla CEO’s critique of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” came as Senate Republicans mull changes to the House-passed tax cut, energy and security spending package. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Musk was wrong about the legislation. The billionaire has opposed EV mandates and called for the end of pro-EV tax credits, which are part of the megabills. The legislation would “massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt,” Musk said. He did not mention the emissions rule in his posts. The bill could be threatened by changes in the Senate, which already has razor-thin margins.
The Tesla CEO’s critique of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” came as Senate Republicans mull changes to the House-passed tax cut, energy and security spending package.
“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns.
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“Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” he continued.
In a later post, Musk said the legislation would “massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
Tesla last week laid out more limited criticisms of the megabill, centered on its quick sunsetting of tax credits for residential solar energy and clean electricity equipment.
“Abruptly ending the energy tax credits would threaten America’s energy independence and the reliability of our grid,” the Tesla Energy unit, which oversees its solar and battery operations, wrote in an X post that Musk later amplified.
Musk’s Tuesday post sent Republicans scrambling to save their bill, which already has razor-thin margins that could be threatened by changes in the Senate.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Musk was wrong about the legislation. “With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’” he told reporters.
“It’s very disappointing. I’ve come to consider Elon a good friend,” Johnson continued, applauding Musk’s work with the U.S. DOGE Service, also known as the Department of Government Efficiency.
Johnson indicated Musk’s opposition may be related to the bill’s provision to repeal the EPA’s 2024 greenhouse gas emissions rule for cars, which he calls the “EV mandate.”
“It’s part of the Green New Deal. And I know that has an effect on his businesses, and I’ll admit that,” Johnson said. “But for him to come out and pan the whole bill is, to me, just very disappointing.”
Musk did not mention the emissions rule in his posts. The billionaire has opposed EV mandates and called for the end of pro-EV tax credits.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Republicans have a “difference of opinion” with Musk, and “he’s entitled to that opinion.”
“All the modeling that we’ve seen suggests that the changes that are being made in the tax policy … are going to lead to significant growth,” Thune said, criticizing the Congressional Budget Office’s forecast that the bill would increase federal deficits by $3.2 trillion over a decade.
On the other hand, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, the only Republican to vote against the legislation, welcomed Musk’s comments. “He’s right,” Massie responded on X.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) could barely contain his delight following Musk’s tweet. At a press conference, he was asked about Johnson suggesting Musk was upset about the megabill targeting climate-related credits.
“I haven’t spoke to Elon Musk, I’m not sure what the reasons are for this extraordinary statement, but we’re in complete agreement,” Jeffries said, while bashing Republicans for wanting to “detonate” the tax credits.