Elon Musk takes jab at Trump’s 'big, beautiful, bill': 'I was disappointed'



President Donald Trump was working around the clock with House Republican leadership to secure enough votes for his "big, beautiful bill." After several overnight sessions and closed-door meetings, the bill passed the House last week with just one vote to spare.

Although many Trump allies championed the achievement, DOGE head Elon Musk expressed disappointment with the landmark legislation.

'I think a bill can be big, or it could be beautiful. But I don't know if it could be both.'

RELATED: Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' narrowly passes the House, notching another win for Johnson

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In the days leading up to the vote, the fate of the bill was still unclear. Apart from spending hawks demanding deeper cuts and significant Medicaid reform, the SALT Caucus Republicans kept demanding a higher and higher cap for state and local tax deductions.

With several roadblocks in the way of the bill, Trump met with House Republicans multiple times both on the Hill and in the White House in an attempt to shepherd any defectors. The bill later passed in a 215-214 vote, with two Republicans voting against the bill, one voting present, and two not voting at all.

While most Republicans and Trump allies took a victory lap, Musk said he was "disappointed" by the bill.

"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," Musk said.

"I think a bill can be big, or it could be beautiful," Musk added. "But I don't know if it could be both."

'Hopefully, the Senate will succeed with the big, beautiful bill where the House missed the moment.'

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Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Musk is not alone in his disappointment. Several House Republicans, like House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.), said the bill does not do enough to address federal spending. Notably, Harris was one of the conservative holdouts leading up to the vote and was the only Republican who voted present on the bill.

“I share Mr. Musk’s concerns about the short-term adverse effect on the federal deficit of the limited spending reductions in the BBB," Harris told Blaze News. "Debt markets remained concerned about U.S. total debt and annual deficits. Hopefully the Senate will take those concerns into consideration as the legislative process moves forward.”

Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio echoed Musk's concerns about spending, urging the Senate to deepen spending cuts. Davidson and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky were the only two GOP members to vote against the bill.

"Hopefully, the Senate will succeed with the big, beautiful bill where the House missed the moment," Davidson said.

The bill is now on its way to the Senate, where lawmakers will inevitably rewrite major portions of the bill before punting it back over to the House before the proposed July 4 deadline.

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Spending hawks dig their heels in as White House battles to keep 'big, beautiful bill' afloat



Tensions are running high in Congress as the White House keeps pressuring fiscal conservatives to get on board with President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill."

Despite Trump's Hail Mary pitch to Republicans, specifically fiscal conservatives, Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill, reconciliation talks seem to be going south. While the Rules Committee wraps up its overnight markup, Republicans are still looking for the off-ramp to get their bill passed.

The whole process has been consumed by Republican factions making incompatible demands. The SALT Caucus Republicans were offered a tentative, and very generous, $40,000 cap for state and local tax deductions. Meanwhile, some members of the House Freedom Caucus have pushed for earlier implementation of Medicaid work requirements.

Although both factions made progress toward their respective goals, it still seems like nobody is happy.

'We're going to work with our colleagues to deliver, but there's a long way to go.'

RELATED: Trump pressures House Republican holdouts as reconciliation talks intensify

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House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.) and Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas have been two of the most outspoken voices within the conference advocating for fiscal responsibility. Although both acknowledged that moving work requirements to an earlier date rather than the original 2029 implementation was a step in the right direction, they remain unpersuaded by Republican leadership and even the president.

"Look, we are greatly encouraged by the progress that's been made in the last 24 hours," Harris said during a presser Wednesday. "... I'm not sure this can be done this week. I'm pretty confident it can be done in 10 days.”

"We're going to work with the president today," Roy said during the presser. "We're going to work with our colleagues to deliver, but there's a long way to go. I want to be very clear. We've got to deliver on what we're talking about, but we're not going to be able to get the bill done, and that's what we're trying to achieve.”

RELATED: Fiscal hawks send warning as 'big, beautiful bill' clears high-stakes vote: 'We have to do more to deliver'

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Harris told reporters that they initially struck a deal with the White House last night but that they've since walked away from the agreement. A White House official countered the claim and said the administration offered Harris and other spending hawks an array of policy options that the president would allow on the condition that they are able to get the votes.

Trump is now set to meet face-to-face with the House Freedom Caucus and Republican leadership, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.). Notably, Emmer has not yet scheduled the floor vote as, the fate of Trump's bill hangs in the balance.

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Trump pressures House Republican holdouts as reconciliation talks intensify



President Donald Trump made a much-needed appearance on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning as more and more House Republicans turn on the "big, beautiful bill."

Trump met with the House Republican conference alongside Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has been working around the clock to make sure reconciliation can pass. But with just two Republican votes to spare and multiple unresolved policy negotiations, the fate of the bill still remains in the balance.

'Anybody that didn't support it, as a Republican, I would consider a fool.'

RELATED: Fiscal hawks send warning as 'big, beautiful bill' clears high-stakes vote: 'We have to do more to deliver'

POTUS gaggles with reporters after meeting with House Rs on reconciliation.

Trump says “anybody that didn’t support it, as a Republican, I would consider to be a fool.”

Several House Rs remained a “no” after the meeting.@theblaze pic.twitter.com/SdV3K5x9mZ
— Rebeka Zeljko (@rebekazeljko) May 20, 2025

During the meeting, Trump made it clear that he was losing his patience with Republican defectors and even suggested they should be primaried. Trump told members not to let SALT negotiations get in the way of reconciliation, even calling out Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York during the meeting.

Lawler notably rejected Johnson's latest — and very generous — offer to increase the state and local tax deduction cap to $40,000, which is a $10,000 increase from the originally proposed cap.

Trump also called out fiscal hawks, specifically Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who has maintained that he won't vote for the bill. However, Massie was not alone, with multiple House Republicans saying their views on the bill have not changed.

"Anybody that didn't support it, as a Republican, I would consider a fool," Trump told reporters after the meeting. "It's a great bill for America."

RELATED: Why the GOP is so frustrated trying to negotiate with the ‘SALT Caucus’

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

At the same time, House Freedom Caucus members, like Republican Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Andy Harris of Maryland, still weren't persuaded by the president.

"We all are here to advance the agenda that the President ran on and that we all ran on," Roy said following the meeting. "I don't think the bill is exactly where it needs to be, yet. We need to extend the Trump tax cuts, but we also need to deliver on the spending restraint ... I think Congress can do a better job."

"The president, I don't think, convinced enough people that the bill is adequate, the way it is," Harris said. "President called for eliminating waste, fraud, abuse in Medicaid, and we have not eliminated waste, fraud, and abuse."

RELATED: Exclusive: Why Chip Roy can't support the 'big, beautiful bill': 'The swamp does what the swamp does'

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Johnson made progress with fiscal conservatives over the weekend when the bill passed through the Budget Committee Sunday night after initially failing a vote on Friday. Leading up to the vote, Johnson met with the Republican holdouts and floated a 2026 start date for Medicaid work requirements rather than the original 2029 implementation date. As a result, four Republicans, including Roy, voted "present" and allowed the bill to advance.

Trump addressed Medicaid during the meeting, telling members not to "f*** around" with the program with the exception of mitigating fraud, waste, and abuse.

"The only thing we're cutting is waste, fraud, and abuse," Trump said. "We're not changing Medicaid, and we're not changing Medicare, and we're not changing Social Security.”

Although Republican defectors seem to be digging their heels in, Trump remained optimistic about the future of his bill.

"I think we're in good shape," Trump told reporters. "This was a meeting of love. There is great unity in that room."

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