WASHINGTON ― Days after leaving his role in the White House, Elon Musk excoriated President Donald Trump's tax and domestic policy bill as a "disgusting abomination," escalating his criticism of the president's signature legislation over concerns that it will increase the deficit.

Musk's pointed June 3 remarks came after Trump held a friendly send-off for the world's richest man in the Oval Office last Friday and as the second-term Republican president is working to push what he's called his "big, beautiful bill" through the Senate.

"I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore," Musk said in a post on his social media platform 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."

The bill, which cleared the House last month with only Republican support, would extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts, implement new tax breaks for tipped wages and overtime, overhaul Medicaid and food stamps, beef up border security and significantly increase military spending. Republican leaders are trying to pass the Senate bill through a filibuster-proof budget process known as reconciliation.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.8 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years.

"It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt," Musk said in a follow-up post on X. "Congress is making America bankrupt."

Musk's remarks spoil his friendly send-off

Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, left the White House as a senior adviser last week after leading the Department of Government Efficiency for the past four months. Before signing off, Musk said in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning that he was "disappointed" with Trump's reconciliation bill, arguing it will grow the deficit and "undermines" DOGE, which has been working to drastically cut federal government spending.

Yet Musk and Trump had seemed to smooth things over when the president welcomed the billionaire tech entrepreneur into the Oval Office for one final news conference with reporters. “We’ll remember you as we announce billions of dollars of extra waste, fraud and abuse,” Trump told Musk, lauding him as "one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shrugged off Musk's latest criticism of Trump's tax and policy bill.

"Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill," Leavitt said. "It doesn't change the president's opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he's sticking to it."

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who helped Trump advance the legislation in the House, told reporters that he spoke to Musk for 20 minutes on June 2 and that he's “terribly wrong” about the bill.

“For him to come out and pan the whole bill is to me just very disappointing," Johnson told The Hill. "Very surprising in light of the conversation I had with him yesterday.”

'I agree with Elon,' Rand Paul says

Over the weekend, Musk expressed disappointment after Trump withdrew his nominee for administrator of NASA, Jared Isaacman, a billionaire commercial astronaut with close ties to Musk.

Trump's bill would also end $7,500 consumer tax credits for buyers of electric vehicles, a policy advanced by former President Joe Biden that has benefited electric car companies like Musk's Tesla.

Musk's fiscal objections to the bill mirror concerns held by some Republican senators ‒ including Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin ‒ whose votes are crucial for Trump to pass the legislation with only Republican backing.

"I agree with Elon," Paul said in a post on X. "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."

Paul has said he will vote against the bill if not changes are made, prompting Trump to lash out at the Kentucky senator earlier in the day in a post on Truth Social. "Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas. His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can’t stand him," Trump wrote.

Leavitt pushed back at the debt concerns raised by Paul and Johnson, accusing them of "not having their facts together" during her June 3 briefing with reporters. The White House has insisted the legislation won't raise the deficit despite the Congressional Budget Office's estimate that it will.

Leavitt said the CBO has a history of being wrong with their fiscal projections. And despite the office's nonpartisan status, she accused the CBO of being "partisan and political" and run by mostly Democratic budget analysts.

"We are very confident in our own economic analyses of this bill," Leavitt said, arguing the bill will produce $1.6 trillion in savings.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk slams President Trump's big tax and policy bill as a 'disgusting abomination'

Reporting by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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