Elon Musk‘s call for Republicans to kill their One Big Beautiful Bill Act has failed to translate to a surge in pressure on lawmakers.
Republican congressional offices said Musk’s push to kill the bill has not mobilized grassroots opposition to it.
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“We didn’t see an increase in calls at all,” one senior aide in a Republican House member’s office said on Friday.
Musk, who is part of a very public and very splashy feud with President Donald Trump, has a large and loyal following. The rift between him and Trump opened up over his disdain for the Republican tax cuts and spending bill, becoming headline news.
But senior staff members at a half dozen Republican House offices contacted by the Washington Examiner said there hasn’t been a noticeable uptick in calls echoing Musk’s sentiment, let alone any sort of groundswell resulting from Musk’s opposition.
Another senior aide said that the calls related to Musk, or the spat between Trump and Musk, have not been conservatives calling over concerns about how the legislation will affect the national debt, but from liberal constituents calling to gloat about the fallout from the rift.
Additionally, several aides on the Senate side of Capitol Hill told the Washington Examiner that there has not been an increase in constituent call volume related to Musk’s push to kill the Trump-backed legislation.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), one of the most outspoken critics of the legislation, said the “vast majority” of his calls have been to vote against it, but he does not believe Musk has played a role.
“My guess is that’s not coming from either my supporters or President Trump’s supporters. I take that seriously,” he said. “But again, I’m going to do what I think is right for the American people, for our kids, and grandkids. That’s always been my position. It’s not easy. I said this is hard, and I hope people understand that.”
Musk repeatedly sent out social media posts condemning the legislation this week. The legislation contains some of Trump’s top political promises, and the president has been working to get it across the finish line. So, the bruising criticism struck a particular nerve in the White House and among Republicans on Capitol Hill.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk said on Tuesday. “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.”
The attacks escalated, with Musk citing forecasts that the reconciliation legislation will add to the federal debt and deficits. In many cases, Musk commented on old social media posts from people such as Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson railing against raising the debt ceiling or adding to the debt.
Then, Musk escalated the attacks even further by tying Trump to Jeffrey Epstein.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” Musk alleged. “That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”
Some Republicans have speculated that the pushback is related to provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that would roll back President Joe Biden’s tax incentives for electric vehicles.
Trump has been comparably more muted in his response, but he is reportedly considering offloading the Tesla he purchased earlier this year, and referred to Musk on Friday morning as “the man who has lost his mind.”
While most rank-and-file Republicans in the House and Senate are pushing to move the reconciliation legislation forward, there are a small number of deficit hawks who want to see bigger cuts and are concerned by the bill.
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Outside groups have also raised concerns that the bill won’t pay for itself and could make the government’s fiscal situation more perilous.
“So there’s zero question that the current form of the bill adds too much to the debt — we shouldn’t be talking about trillions in new borrowing, we should be talking about trillions in savings,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told the Washington Examiner.