Elon Musk launched a lengthy tirade against the legislation just days after leaving the White House
Elon Musk has criticized Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ just days after leaving his role in the White House.
Last week, the billionaire tech mogul announced his time steering the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had come to an end and he officially departed on Friday (May 30).
It was a rocky road for Musk ever since he took on the ‘special government employee’ role in January, though he stood strong as Donald Trump’s so-called ‘first buddy’ throughout.
Now that he’s left the White House, however, the Tesla boss isn’t holding back on his criticism of the Trump administration’s new ‘big beautiful bill’.
The bill, which passed the house by one vote on May 22, includes a raft of temporary tax cuts up until 2028, including no taxes on tips for workers in the service and beauty industries, and a freeze on taxes on those working overtime, all while redirecting funds to military and border security.
Elon Musk hits out at Bill Gates
Elon Musk relinquished his role in the Department of Government Efficiency last week (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Taking to Twitter, Musk slammed the legislation as an ‘abomination’ and condemned those who voted in favor of it.
He wrote: “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. 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.”
In a follow-up rant, the SpaceX founder added: “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
He also accused Congress of ‘making America bankrupt’ and said in November next year ‘we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people.’
The pair were reportedly ‘pals’ alongside being colleagues (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
According to the New York Post, sources told the outlet that they believed his criticism has been motivated by several factors.
This includes the fact House Republicans removed electric vehicle tax credits that once boosted Tesla, and that he has been unable to remain at the head of DOGE beyond the statutory 130-day limit.
The Federal Aviation Administration is also reportedly opting against using his Starlink satellite system to help with the nation’s air traffic control.
Meanwhile, Trump also pulled Musk’s ally Jared Isaacman from leading NASA over his alleged ‘prior associations,’ believed to refer to the astronaut’s previous donations to Democrats, the Post added.
It isn’t the first time Musk has positioned himself against the bill either, previously saying in an interview with CBS that he was ‘disappointed’ to see the legislation in action, describing it as ‘undermin[ing] the work that the DOGE team is doing’.
Musk had agreed with many of the POTUS’ decisions up until recently (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said about the rant: “The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn’t change his opinion.”
As well as tax cuts, the bill also paves the way for tax deductions on up to $10,000 in interest on auto loans for cars made on US soil, and $200 taxes on gun silencers.
Controversially, it also seeks to cut Medicaid and SNAP food stamp benefits to make up for scores of the lost tax revenue, by curbing funds for undocumented immigrants and a ban on children and adults accessing funds for gender transition services.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated 8.6 million fewer people would have healthcare coverage as a result while the changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services pose a saving of one trillion dollars.Featured Image Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Health, Money, Politics, Republicans, Twitter, US News
Published 14:11 23 May 2025 GMT+1
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slams Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ and warns of major consequences when US ‘wakes up’
Democrats are calling it a ‘big, bad bill’
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has slammed Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ and warns of consequences when the country ‘wakes up’.
Since Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second term in January, he’s been on a mission to rescue the economy and spark a new ‘golden age’ for the country.
To this end, he announced a series of tariff hikes on the US’ global trading partners and has been looking at slashing taxes for American workers.
Earlier this week, White House Republicans passed a legislation extending his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to the tune of multitrillion-dollar tax breaks.
What is Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’?
The House launched a debate on Trump’s so-called ‘big, beautiful bill’ before midnight and by early morning on Thursday (May 22), the vote was called, 215-214, passing through by a single vote with Democrats staunchly opposed to it.
The proposed law, which will now go to the Senate, includes a raft of tax cuts, including no taxes on tips for workers in the service and beauty industries and a freeze on taxes on those working overtime, all while redirecting funds to military and border security.
The bill also paves the way for Trump’s vision of a ‘Golden Dome’, a ballistic and missile defense system (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
It would also pave the way for tax deductions on up to $10,000 in interest on auto loans for cars made on US soil and $200 taxes on gun silencers.
However, it’s touted as a temporary exemption that will come to an end in 2028 – or 2029 for the car loan interest deal.
Also on the bill is a $500 hike in child tax credit, totalling $2,500 through to 2028, and controversial changes to Medicaid and SNAP food stamp benefits to make up for scores of the lost tax revenue.
This includes more frequent eligibility checks, cuts in funds for undocumented immigrants and a ban on children and adults accessing funds for gender transition services.
The House announced the vote on Thursday (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The Congressional Budget Office estimated 8.6 million fewer people would have healthcare coverage as a result while the changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services pose a saving of one trillion dollars.
What has Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said about the Big Beautiful Bill and why is she concerned?
However, not everyone is keen on the plan, with New York Democrat AOC taking the chance to criticize the move in an explosive statement on the House floor on Wednesday night.
She said the so-called ‘big beautiful bill’ will affect the healthcare of 13.7 million Americans.
Ocasio-Cortez said: “Republicans are going to try to tell you every distraction in the book from that essential number,” claiming the legislation had been compiled ‘in a matter of hours on the back of a napkin’.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has issued a warning about the bill (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“For my Republican colleagues who are sure what is in and not in this bill, in this process that has been this rushed, when you wake up this morning, you will realize that you voted to defund Planned Parenthood and to take away health care from 13.7 million Americans,” she continued.
“When this country wakes up in the morning, there will be consequences to pay for this.”
The CBO also said the lowest-income households in the country would see their resources decrease while higher earners would see a boost.
What other Democrats say about Trump’s tax bill
“This is one ugly bill,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York added, as the opposition continue to call it a ‘big, bad bill’ or a ‘big, broken promise’.
Trump has promised to slash taxes on tips for service workers (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The comments come as scores of Republicans dropped their opposition to save the 1,000-page-plus Bill that is considered central to the Republican and Trump agenda.
The administration warned that ‘failure to pass [it] would be the ultimately betrayal’.
They believe the package will be ‘rocket fuel’ for the rocky US economy.
Speaker Mike Johnson said just before the vote: “To put it simply, this bill gets Americans back to winning again.”
Representative Erin Houchin also said it would ‘unlock the ‘Golden Age’ of America,’ as Trump said in his inauguration speech.
What stage is the Big Beautiful Bill up to?
House Republicans stayed up all night to debate the bill, with last-minute concessions added before it slithered through by just one vote.
Now, it will go to the Senate for consideration.
A bill must pass through both the House and Senate in order to for the President to sign it into law.Featured Image Credit: Alex Wong/Getty
Topics: Donald Trump, Republicans, US News, Politics, Money, Health, Transgender, Immigration, Military
Published 15:33 22 May 2025 GMT+1
Shocking report ‘reveals’ what White House staff really think of Elon Musk after he takes step back from Trump administration
The report reveals just what some of Trump’s team think of Musk…
A shocking report has ‘revealed’ just what White House staff really think of Elon Musk.
It’s no secret that the Tesla and SpaceX boss isn’t particularly popular with the general public, nor the federal workforce.
Agitation for the billionaire businessman has been boiling over ever since he declared himself Donald Trump‘s ‘First Buddy’ and was picked to head the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – and with unnerving enthusiasm.
Since January, Musk has brought Tesla Cybertrucks to the White House front lawn and at one point sported a literal chainsaw as a metaphor for his unapologetic approach, which has slashed budgets, axed jobs and, according to a new report, severed friendships.
He’s been quite enthusiastic about his post (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
A new bombshell report by The Atlantic based on the confessions of 14 anonymous White House confidants has lifted the lid on just what those in the upper order of the Trump administration really think of him.
Here’s everything of note:
Musk’s clash with Scott Bessent
“F*** you!”, rang through the West Wing last month, not once but three times, and apparently within earshot of the POTUS himself.
Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, launched his expletive-filled rant after Musk picked a new IRS leader behind his back.
However, the report reveals the feud was just one of many between Musk and Trump’s top dogs.
Bessent recently screamed at him (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The ultimatum email
In February, Musk pinged off an email to the entire federal workforce one weekend with the demand to list five tasks they’d completed that week – or don’t bother coming to work.
“How many people were fired because they didn’t send in their three things a week or whatever the f*** it was?” an anonymous Trump adviser told the outlet. “I think that everyone is ready to move on from this part of the administration.”
‘Chaos’ in workforce cuts
High up on the list of Musk’s most unpopular moves has been his efforts to slash the federal workforce as well as grants, contracts and leases, which he claimed saved $170 billion.
However, that figure has shifted due to program reinstatements and errors, The Atlantic adds, and while the 4.5-million-strong workforce has been chiselled down by tens of thousands, some of those too are up in the air because of court orders.
According to one adviser, Musk performed the cuts in a ‘haphazard’ way that caused chaos.
Musk said he was merely ‘tech support’ for the president (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
It was possibly all for nothing too, or at least very little, as it’s now transpired that Musk failed to find anything close to the 13-figure saving he’d initially promised.
The 53-year-old appeared to admit this when his revised goal of $1 trillion, down from the $2 trillion target, was proving ‘really, really difficult’ to meet.
“It’s not easy,” he added. “This is—this is a way to make a lot of enemies and not that many friends.”
Questions over actual efficiency
Ayushi Roy, a former technologist at the General Services Administration, suggested that while Musk did cut the workforce – and traumatized those who have managed to cling on – he didn’t make anything more efficient.
She said: “I am waiting for them to actually deliver something. Right now they have just been deleting things. They haven’t added any value.
“If it is just us hatcheting things instead of improving or even replacing them, the goal, to me, is not actually about improving efficiency.”
Calkins suggested Musk’s ‘Silicon Valley’ approach isn’t appropriate for government (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
‘Silicon Valley mindset’
Matt Calkins, the CEO of a Virginia-based software company, Appian, who has also worked within the federal government for more than 20 years, said Musk’s downfall has been approaching the task with the wrong mindset.
“He comes in with his idealism and his Silicon Valley playbook, and a few interesting things happened. Does the ‘move fast and break things’ model work in Washington? Not really,” Calkins said.
‘Killing children’ in cuts to foreign aid
Although it was actually fellow billionaire and philanthropist, Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, who publicly condemned Musk as ‘the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children,’ the tech mogul faced severe backlash when DOGE axed foreign aid.
Musk said USAID (United States Agency for International Development), that has been the largest humanitarian operator around the globe, was a ‘criminal organization’ and that it was ‘time for it to die‘.
Bill Gates didn’t hold back in his criticism of Musk for the cuts to foreign aid (Bruce Glikas/WireImage)
In line with this assault, DOGE also cut The Inter-American Foundation, an independent US foreign assistance agency, from 48 employees to the ‘statutory minimum’ of just one.
Apparently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio wasn’t happy with the dissolution of foreign aid or the cut back to the Inter-American Foundation.
The Atlantic reports Musk had challenged Rubio for not reducing his staff – and the statesman stood his ground.
“That was one of the turning points for Trump and Marco, where Trump realized Marco had a little spine,” a Trump ally said.
‘Ambush’ of concerns from veterans to aviation safety
At one point, Musk was reportedly ‘ambushed’ by Rubio as well as Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
According to the report, Trump had arranged the meeting in March, stating they will ‘have at it’ after the advisors were reportedly angry with Musk for overstepping and, as one adviser said, essentially ‘setting [agencies] on fire.’
The adviser explained: “[Musk] miscalculated his ability to act just completely autonomously. He had some missteps in all of these agencies, which would have been fine because everyone acknowledges that when you’re moving fast and breaking things, not everything is going to go right.
Marco Rubio is another Trump ally that apparently hasn’t been happy with Musk’s moves (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“But it’s different when you do that and you don’t even have the buy-in of the agency you’re setting on fire.”
Before his spat with Rubio, Duffy had also accused Musk of trying to lay off air traffic controllers at a time when the US was reeling from ‘multiple plane crashes’.
Meanwhile, Collins pulled up the fact Musk’s cuts threaten thousands of veterans, a core of Trump’s voter base.
Trump’s tariffs
A turning point appeared to come from Trump’s tariffs as the billionaire called for a ‘zero-tariff situation’, while Tesla voiced concerns about counter-tariffs affecting business.
Hammering the nail in the coffin, Musk also called Trump’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, ‘dumber than a sack of bricks’.
Trump later confirmed that Musk would not be attending a Pentagon briefing about a potential war with China based on his apparent conflict of interest.
Steve Bannon said this Pentagon spat changed everything, writing: “You could feel it, everything changed, the fever had been broken.”
Trump and Musk’s friendship is still going strong (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
‘No one likes the guy’
Rushab Sanghvi, the general counsel for the American Federation of Government Employees, is another who is celebrating Musk’s soon departure, saying: “If he had stayed in the shadows and done his stuff, who knows how bad it would have been? But no one likes the guy.”
The end of Musk in DOGE?
As a ‘special government employee,’ Musk’s time at the head of DOGE was always limited to 130 days.
Now, it appears time is up with Musk himself telling reporters that he’s been cutting down on DOGE issues to a few days per week, then to ‘every other week’ and, most recently, stating: “I think I’ve done enough.”
And if this report is to be believed, many of Trump’s allies might just be breathing a sigh of relief about that.Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Scott Olson
Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Politics, Business, US News
Published 16:51 25 May 2025 GMT+1
Elon Musk seemingly addresses current status of role within Trump administration amid conflict rumors
Musk’s X post seems to clear things up
Elon Musk has addressed the situation with his position in the Trump administration.
It’s no secret that Musk and President Donald Trump have been very close since his inauguration on January 20 this year.
However, the Tesla and SpaceX boss has had to go focus more of his time on his companies after investors became worried about how he was splitting his time between his projects and the government.
The billionaire businessman and Trump agreed that he would lead the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and see where he could make things better in the administration.
This was short-lived as Chief of Staff Susie Wiles recently revealed that Musk is no longer working directly alongside Trump anymore.
In an interview with The New York Post, she said: “Instead of meeting with him in person, I’m talking to him on the phone, but it’s the same net effect. He’s not out of it altogether. He’s just not physically present as much as he was. He hasn’t been here physically, but it really doesn’t matter much.
Elon Musk has seemingly addressed his position in the Trump administration (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“The people that are doing this work are here doing good things and paying attention to the details. He’ll be stepping back a little, but he’s certainly not abandoning it. And his people are definitely not.”
So, there have been a lot of questions surrounding why he is now stepping back from his post.
While speculations ran rampant about just where he will fit in regarding the White House, the electric-vehicle head has gone on to speak up about rumors.
In a new post on X, Musk claimed that he is back at his offices to give his all to his own companies, seemingly confirming that he’s totally stepping back from being involved in politics in general.
The post stated: “Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms. I must be super focused on X/AI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out..”
Anyway, now that it’s clear that he will not be returning to presidential aide duties, he can focus on his space endeavours. But it appears that he made enemies while he was helping Trump with his goals.
Musk posted to X his thoughts of his future (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
According to a report by The Atlantic, which is based on the confessions of 14 anonymous White House confidants, he’s not well liked.
Could it be because he sent an email in February to the entire federal workforce with the demand to list five tasks they’d completed that week, or they could not bother coming into work?
“How many people were fired because they didn’t send in their three things a week or whatever the f**k it was?” an anonymous Trump adviser told the outlet. “I think that everyone is ready to move on from this part of the administration.”
Or, maybe it was when he came into the White House with a ‘Silicon Valley mindset’?
Matt Calkins, the CEO of a Virginia-based software company, Appian, and has worked within the federal government for more than 20 years, said Musk’s downfall could be partly down to the way he thinks.
“He comes in with his idealism and his Silicon Valley playbook, and a few interesting things happened. Does the ‘move fast and break things’ model work in Washington? Not really,” Calkins said.Featured Image Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, US News, Politics
Updated 09:54 31 May 2025 GMT+1Published 09:55 31 May 2025 GMT+1
Elon Musk speaks out on black eye noticed by the public at White House farewell event
The tech boss has cleared the air about his bruised eye
Former DOGE chief Elon Musk has addressed the visible black eye he was sporting during his farewell event at the White House.
Musk has been in the news a great deal lately after he stepped down from his political role after nearly half a year by President Donald Trump’s side.
There had been a lot of rumors going around which speculated whether Musk would be leaving his post as CEO of Tesla or the White House after investors publicly called him out for him not tending to his electric vehicle company as much as he should.
Anyway, earlier this week he confirmed that he is stepping down from his role as a ‘Special Government Employee’ – AKA, leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – meaning he and the president are professionally divorcing one another.
After the announcement on X, people were itching to hear from the POTUS, and after just one day, the 78-year-old reacted to the news.
Elon Musk is no longer a part of DOGE (Tom Brenner For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Obviously, Trump would react as Musk handed in his resignation a few days earlier than he was intended to step down, as well as him criticizing Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’.
Speaking to CBS in a preview clip on May 27, Musk said: “I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill frankly, which increases the budget deficit not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.
“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful… but I don’t know if it could be both, my personal opinion.”
To this, the president took to Truth Social and posted: “I am having a Press Conference tomorrow at 1:30 P.M. EST, with Elon Musk, at the Oval Office. This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way. Elon is terrific! See you tomorrow at the White House.”
Well, their press conference at the White House yesterday (30 May) went well, but at the end of the briefing, a reporter asked Musk if his eye was ‘ok’?
People were quick to notice Musk had a bruised eye during his farewell event at the White House (Tom Brenner For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
As you can see in the photograph above, Musk was sporting a very visible bruised eye.
To this, Musk laughed and made a Joke about French President Emmanuel Macron, who appeared to be ‘slapped’ by his wife as he got off a plane in Asia, when he said: “I wasn’t anywhere near France.”
Then, he revealed the real reason, and I think every parent can relate.
Musk claimed the bruise came from his five-year-old son during some rough play, telling to reporter: ” I was just horsing around with little X, and I said punch me in the face, and he did.
Musk claims his five-year-old son punched him (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“It turns out even a 5-year-old punching you in the face, accidentally, it bruises up.”
People on social media were quick to talk about the bruise, with one person asking: “Is anyone watching the joint news conference from the White House? What on earth is in the left upper corner of Elon Musk’s face right by his left eye.”
“Elon Musk is sporting a black eye in the oval today,” another stated.Featured Image Credit: Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, US News, Politics
