Elon Musk has raised concerns about President Donald Trump’s major tax and spending cuts proposal, saying it could increase the US budget deficit and weaken ongoing efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“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 told CBS Sunday Morning. “I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don’t know if it can be both.”
Trillions in cuts and defense boosts
Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” features trillions of dollars in tax reductions and a major boost to defense and national security budgets. It proposes funding these increases through deep cuts to federal healthcare and nutrition programs, as well as to clean energy initiatives.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would add $3.8 trillion to the federal deficit. It narrowly passed the Republican-controlled House last week and now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to undergo changes.
Musk steps back from politics
The remarks come as Musk embarks on a media tour ahead of a SpaceX test flight Tuesday evening. He said he is now stepping away from active government involvement to focus on his companies, SpaceX and Tesla, both of which have faced recent turbulence.
“I think I probably did spend a bit too much time on politics, it’s less than people would think, because the media is going to over-represent any political stuff, because political bones of contention get a lot of traction in the media,” he told Ars Technica. “It’s not like I left the companies. It was just relative time allocation that probably was a little too high on the government side, and I’ve reduced that significantly in recent weeks.”
Future of political spending uncertain
Musk recently indicated he would reduce future political contributions but has not confirmed whether he will back away from his earlier pledge to donate $100 million to Trump-linked political groups.
He has already spent over $290 million to support Trump and Republican congressional candidates in the most recent election. Musk-affiliated groups also contributed over $20 million to a Wisconsin Supreme Court race earlier this year, where the candidate he supported lost.
DOGE under pressure
Musk continued to defend DOGE in his interview with the Washington Post, arguing that the team has become a convenient scapegoat.
“DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything,” he said. “So, like, something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it.”
CNN previously reported that DOGE would continue operating despite Musk’s reduced involvement. Staffers are expected to remain embedded in federal agencies for months or even years to come.
