Washington (AP) – Elon Musk criticizes the center play of President Donald Trump’s legislative program, an important fracture in a partnership that was forged during last year’s campaign and was about to reshape American policy and the federal government.
The billionaire entrepreneur, who supported Trump’s candidacy with at least $ 250 million and worked for his administration as a principal advisor, said that he was “disappointed” by what the president calls his “Big Beautiful Bill.”
The legislation includes a mixture of tax reductions and strengthening immigration application. While talking to CBSMusk described it as a “massive expenditure bill” which increases the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of his Ministry of Effectiveness of the Government, known as Doge.
“I think that a bill can be great or that it could be beautiful,” said Musk. “But I don’t know if it could be both.”
His CBS interview was released on Tuesday evening. Trump, speaking in the oval office on Wednesday, defended his program by speaking of the delicate policy involved in the negotiation of the legislation.
“I am not happy with certain aspects of this one, but I am delighted by other aspects,” he said.
Trump also suggested that more changes could be made.
“We will see what’s going on,” he said. “It’s a path to go.”
Republicans recently pushed the measure through the house and debate it in the Senate.
Musk’s concerns are shared by certain republican legislators. Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson said that he was “quite confident” that there was enough opposition “to slow down this process until the president, our leadership, becomes serious” to the reduction of expenses. Speaking on Wednesday during a Milwaukee Press Club event, he added that there was no pressure that Trump could make him change to change his position.
President Mike Johnson asked senators to make the least changes to the legislation as possible, saying that the Republicans of the Chamber had reached a “very delicate balance” which could be upset with major changes. The closely divided chamber will have to vote again on the final adoption once the Senate has changed the bill.
On Wednesday, Johnson thanked Musk for his work and promised to continue more discounts of spending in the future, saying that “the house is impatient and ready to act on the conclusions of Doge”.
The White House sends proposed cancellations, a mechanism used to cancel the expenses previously authorized, in Capitol Hill to consolidate some of the Doge Cups. A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget said that the package would include $ 1.1 billion from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, which finances NPR and PBS, and $ 8.3 billion in foreign aid.
Musk’s criticisms arrive when he backs up from his government work, resuming companies such as Tesla electric car manufacturer and the manufacturer of SpaceX rockets. He also said he was going reduce your political expensesBecause “I think I did enough.”
Sometimes he seemed to chastise through his work experience in government. Although he hoped that Doge would generate 1 billion of dollars of expense discounts, he fell away from this goal.
“The situation of the federal bureaucracy is much worse than what I thought,” he told Washington Post. “I thought there were problems, but it is certainly a difficult battle while trying to improve things at DC, to say the least.”
Musk had already been under tension by the opportunity to reshape Washington. He wore campaign hats in the White House, organized his own campaign rallies and spoke of excessive expenses as an existential crisis. He often tended to be efficient in his Trump praise.
“The more president Trump knew myself, the more I love the guy,” said Musk in February. “Frankly, I love it.”
Trump reimbursed the favor, describing Musk as “a really big American”. When Tesla faced a drop in sales, he transformed the alley of the White House A makeshift exhibition hall To illustrate his support.
It is not known what is, if necessary, that Musk’s comments on the bill would have on the legislative debate. During the transition period, He helped make opposition At a measure of expenses, the country was held at the edge of a closure of the federal government.
His latest criticisms could embrace the Republicans who want more significant spending reductions. Utah republican senator Mike Lee has republished a story of Fox News on Musk’s interview while adding his own vision of the measure, saying that there was “still time to repair it”.
“The Senate version will be more aggressive,” said Lee. “He can, he must, and he will be. Or he will not pass.”
Only two Republicans – Warren Davidson representatives of Ohio and Thomas Massie from Kentucky – voted against the bill when the Chamber took the measure last week.
Davidson took note of musk’s comments on social networks.
“I hope that the Senate will succeed with the major bill on the major bill where the Chamber has missed the moment,” he wrote. “Do not expect that someone else will one day cut the deficits, know that this congress was done.”
The Congressional Budget Office, in a preliminary estimate, said that tax provisions would increase federal deficits by 3.8 billions of dollars during the decade, while the Medicaid changesFood coupons and other services would reduce the expenses of just over 1 billion of dollars during the same period.
The Republican leaders of the Chamber claim that increased economic growth would allow the bill to be a neutral or reduction deficit, but the external childcare dogs are skeptical. The responsible federal budget committee considers that the bill would add 3 billions of dollars to debt, including interest, during the next decade.
___ The editors of the Associated Press Scott Bauer in Milwaukee and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.
