House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump is not pleased with how Elon Musk slammed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
In a press conference, Johnson told reporters that he “obviously” spoke to the president about Musk’s diatribe on Tuesday against the massive package that contains many provisions in line with Trump’s second-term agenda.
“As you know, he’s not delighted that Elon did a 180 on that,” Johnson said. “I don’t know what happened in 24 hours. Everybody can draw their own conclusions about that, okay? But I look forward to talking to my friend about it again.”
???? MIKE JOHNSON: President Trump is not delighted that Elon did a “180” on the Big Beautiful Bill.pic.twitter.com/eIdD9liXfh
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 4, 2025
The speaker noted that he defended the bill in a talk with Musk on Monday. He claimed Musk was “encouraged” by the conversation and pledged to help House Republicans keep their majority in the midterm elections.
.@SpeakerJohnson on Elon Musk: “Elon and I left on a great note. We were texting one another you know, happy texts, you know Monday. And then, yesterday, 24 hours later, he does a 180 and comes out and opposes the bill. It surprised me, frankly, and I don’t take it personally.” pic.twitter.com/0lcdK3ahiC
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 4, 2025
Johnson also said he called Musk on Tuesday night, but did not get an answer.
“I hope to talk to him today,” Johnson said. “It’s very friendly. And we can — and we’ve laughed about our differences on policy before. I’m not upset about this.”
Although Trump has chided GOP lawmakers who have taken a stand against the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” he has not publicly commented on Musk roughly 24 hours after the tech billionaire harshly criticized the measure and the House Republicans who voted to pass it.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk said in a post on X. “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.”
Musk added in another post, “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America (sic) citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.” He also said, “In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people.”
Johnson said Musk was “flat wrong.” He insisted that “every single American is going to do better” once the bill is enacted into law and predicted House Republicans will grow their majority “because we’re delivering for the American people and fulfilling our campaign promises.”
Not passing the legislation would be treacherous, the speaker warned, because retaining the 2017 tax cuts is part of it as well as raising the debt limit to steer clear of a default.
“All the things that are in this bill are so important for the U.S. economy. It’s going to be jet fuel for the U.S. economy. All boats are going to rise,” Johnson said.
On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shrugged off the critique when a reporter asked how “mad” Trump would be when he finds out what Musk said about the bill.
“Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ and he’s sticking to it,” Leavitt said.
Some Republicans who oppose the legislation in its current form have touted Musk’s commentary.
“I agree with Elon. We have both seen the massive waste in government spending and we know another $5 trillion in debt is a huge mistake. We can and must do better,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said in a post on X.
On the Democrat side, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said, “The GOP Tax Scam is a disgusting abomination. Truer words have never been spoken.”
In the days leading up to his explosive comments on X, Musk had already begun to express his dismay with the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” which is now being considered by the Republican-controlled Senate.
“I was like — disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it. And it undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk told “CBS Sunday Morning” in an interview clip published in the middle of last week.
Musk also said that when the bill came along, he thought “everything” accomplished by DOGE would get “wiped out” in the first year. He also said, “I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don’t know if it can be both. My personal opinion.”
Despite the attack on the bill, Musk appeared with Trump in the Oval Office on Friday, getting a warm send-off after completing his stint as a special government employee, overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort.
“Elon’s really not leaving,” Trump said. “He’s going to be back and forth, I think.”