Elon Musk Breaks With Trump Over ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ Calling It a Betrayal of DOGE’s Mission

In an unexpected rupture within the most high-profile partnership in Washington, Elon Musk — once heralded as the face of Donald Trump’s government modernization crusade — has publicly expressed sharp disappointment in the president’s signature spending legislation. Known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the legislation narrowly passed the House last week by a single vote and stands as a political triumph for President Trump.

But Musk, who only recently stepped back from his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has taken the rare and dramatic step of criticizing the bill as a betrayal of everything DOGE was designed to accomplish.

In an interview snippet released Tuesday ahead of a full segment airing on CBS this weekend, Musk pulled no punches. “I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” he stated. “I think a bill can be big, or it can be beautiful, but I don’t know if it can be both, in my personal opinion.”

Musk’s blunt rebuke comes at a politically sensitive moment. The legislation is being hailed by Trump and top Republicans as a culmination of campaign promises that include extending the 2017 tax cuts, eliminating taxes on tips and overtime, and slashing federal oversight in key areas of business regulation.

But Musk’s criticism has already begun to shake the fragile unity inside the Republican Party, particularly among fiscal conservatives who once championed DOGE’s dramatic reductions in government size.

The rift is as ideological as it is personal. When Trump first appointed Musk to lead DOGE, many were skeptical. But the billionaire entrepreneur surprised critics by slashing costs across the federal government with ruthless efficiency.

DOGE eliminated or downsized 11 federal agencies, pushed more than 250,000 federal employees out of their positions, and reportedly saved U.S. taxpayers $160 billion — though the total federal spending paradoxically continued to rise, as tracked by the nonpartisan Penn Wharton Budget Model.

Now, Musk’s frustration appears rooted in the fact that all those sacrifices — the agency closures, the layoffs, the technological streamlining — are being undermined by a megabill that reintroduces unchecked spending under the guise of economic populism. To Musk, the bill not only contradicts his efficiency-first philosophy but also tarnishes DOGE’s brand as a serious reform vehicle.

Sources close to Musk suggest the former DOGE chief had raised concerns privately before going public. But after the House passed the bill 215–214, with all Democrats and two conservative Republicans voting against it, Musk decided the time had come to draw a line in the sand. “This is not about politics for Elon,” one source said. “It’s about principles. He believed in DOGE as a mechanism to re-engineer the government for the 21st century. This bill rewinds that progress by decades.”

Trump, for his part, has not responded directly to Musk’s remarks. However, insiders say he views the bill as a necessary recalibration — not a contradiction — of his partnership with Musk. One aide described the bill as “a continuation of Trump’s America First ethos, bringing money back to the people,” even if it means expanding some aspects of government spending to do so.

The White House has privately downplayed Musk’s criticism as “disappointing but expected,” citing his recent withdrawal from federal office and return to private industry.

Yet Musk’s disapproval could have real implications for the bill’s future. The legislation, still pending Senate approval, now faces a more uncertain path. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a loyal Trump supporter but also a fiscal hawk, has signaled he wants more aggressive spending cuts to reduce the deficit.

Meanwhile, moderates in the GOP are worried about voter backlash to Medicaid reductions and a rollback of green energy tax credits originally created under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Adding to the tension is the reality that Musk still holds immense sway over a significant portion of the electorate — particularly among tech-savvy independents and younger conservatives who admired his role in streamlining the federal government. If Musk campaigns against the bill or publicly pressures Senate Republicans to amend it, the Trump administration may find itself forced into a more contentious legislative process than expected.

Political analysts have already begun framing this fracture as symbolic of deeper tensions within the GOP. “What we’re seeing is the difference between Trumpism and Muskovian technocracy,” said political historian David Blankenhorn. “Trump wants populist flash and big, bold moves. Musk wants engineering precision and lean government. Those two visions were bound to clash eventually.”

Indeed, DOGE was always an unusual beast — part Silicon Valley dream, part federal reality. When Musk accepted the role, he promised $2 trillion in savings over a decade and a transformation of bureaucratic functions using automation, AI, and performance-based management. But now, with Trump’s bill expanding benefits and reducing tax revenues without offsetting cuts, that mission appears to have been politically nullified.

Musk, in his interview, stopped short of saying he regrets his time in government. But his tone made clear that he feels betrayed. “We had a vision,” he said. “DOGE wasn’t about politics. It was about math. If we can’t stick to the numbers, we’re just playing games.”

The personal fallout remains unclear. Musk and Trump have long maintained a close — if occasionally tense — working relationship. From climate policy to social media regulation, the two have often presented a united front. But this latest disagreement may mark a new era in which Musk begins to decouple from Trump’s policy machine and reassert his independence as a political and business force.

Already, speculation is swirling about whether Musk will use his platform to launch a new political initiative — one that goes beyond DOGE and tackles what he sees as Washington’s addiction to deficit spending. Insiders say he has been meeting with former DOGE officials and fiscal experts to outline what one source called “DOGE 2.0” — a private-sector think tank or lobbying group aimed at enforcing budget discipline from the outside.

Whether this marks a permanent break or just a temporary rift remains to be seen. But for now, Washington’s most unorthodox power duo — Elon Musk and Donald Trump — appears to be heading in opposite directions, caught between competing visions of what it means to make government efficient, effective, and, above all, American.

If the Senate reshapes the bill to address Musk’s concerns, a reconciliation might still be possible. But if the legislation is signed into law as it stands, the former DOGE leader’s departure could be remembered as the beginning of the end for Trump’s technocratic revolution.

For Musk, the numbers must add up. For Trump, the politics must play out. And somewhere in the middle, the American taxpayer waits to see which vision will define the next chapter of government in the United States.