Elon Musk had ambitious plans when he took the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), famously pledging to slash at least $1 trillion in government waste. Back in February, we noted that while Musk’s mission in Washington, DC, was admirable, the ultimate cost savings would be decided by Congress.
Fast forward to Tuesday, Musk appeared in a CBS News interview where he voiced his disappointment, citing frustration that despite DOGE’s efforts to root out waste and fraud across federal agencies, President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” (BBB) comes with an alarmingly high price tag.
“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 said.
He added, “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.”
Last week, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed the BBB that fulfills much of Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda, such as delivering new tax breaks on tips and car loans and boosting spending on the military and hemispheric defense.
As we’ve previously explained, BBB will “massively” increase deficits by $3.8 trillion over ten years. In part because new borrowing is front-loaded and offsets are back-loaded, the bill would add massively to near-term deficits.
The prospect of a ballooning national debt—despite DOGE’s reported $175 billion in federal waste and fraud reductions—has put Musk at odds with Trump’s BBB and, more notably, with Congress. His frustration appears primarily directed at lawmakers, whom he sees as unwilling to implement the sweeping fiscal cuts needed to course-correct that nation to avert a debt crisis.
We predicted this clash between Musk and Congress would unfold as far back as early February:
“What Musk is doing in trying to streamline the govt is admirable but ultimately it will be Congress that decides the endgame. And there things are as status quo as always.”
Here's the bigger play at hand, and why there is only token pushback to DOGE.
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 8, 2025
You cut enough spending – even if it's all grift and fraud – you eventually get a recession, guaranteed. That's all Congress is waiting for cause then they use the "emergency" to vote through a far…
Musk is not alone. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has stated, “We’re not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic tonight. We’re putting coal in the boiler and setting a course for the iceberg.”
There is brewing dissent among other Republican senators who follow Musk…
Musk must be furious with Congress.
Recall what he said last week, “The ability of Doge to operate is a function of whether the government, and this includes the Congress, is willing to take our advice.”