President Donald Trump’s point man on cost-cutting criticized the bill enshrining Trump’s domestic policy agenda because it would cost the government trillions of dollars if enacted.
Elon Musk, leader of Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” said he was let down by the legislation, which is known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk told CBS News in an interview clip released Tuesday.
The legislation would add $3 trillion or more to federal budget deficits over the next decade with tax cuts that are only partially offset by spending reductions.
The White House and most other Republicans have insisted, contrary to all budget experts, that the tax cuts will be so good for business that they will juice government revenue and make up the difference. So it’s striking for Musk, a close ally of the president, to dump on the bill.
