Europe's Newest Leader Faces Tough Economic Test
Welcome to the weekend issue of Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. Join us on Saturdays for deeper dives from our bureaus across Europe.
BUCHAREST — All politics is local, but sometimes it's hard to replicate local wins at the national level.
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Elon Musk has shattered his political silence with a series of blistering attacks aimed directly at the legislative centerpiece of the Trump administration. Just hours before a critical Senate vote on the president's 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX reiterated his fierce opposition, escalating a feud with his former boss. The public break marks a dramatic turn. For months, Musk was a high profile, if unconventional, member of the administration, heading the much vaunted Department of Government Efficiency, cheekily known as DOGE. But even during his final hours in government, the world's richest man began to voice his dissent over the bill, which the Republican led Congress is rushing to pass before the July 4th holiday. Their alliance between Musk and President Donald Trump, always a transactional marriage of convenience between two larger than life figures, publicly imploded on June 5. The fallout began when Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, expressed his 'disappointment' in Musk's criticisms, suggesting the tech mogul only soured on the bill after electric vehicle subsidies were cut. This sparked a real time tirade from Musk on X. He accused Trump of lying, claiming the bill was 'never shown to me,' and boasted that 'without me, Trump would have lost the election.' The conflict spiraled from there, with Trump threatening Musk's lucrative government contracts and Musk, at one point, alleging Trump's name appeared in the infamous Epstein files before deleting the post. Now, that simmering conflict has boiled over once again. At stake is a sprawling piece of legislation that defines the Trump administration's second term priorities. The bill includes deep cuts to social programs like Medicaid and Medicare, a new round of massive tax cuts, and a significant raise to the nation's debt ceiling. Crucially for Musk, it also proposes drastic reductions and new taxes on the clean energy sector, a direct threat to the industries he leads through Tesla and his solar ventures After criticizing the version of the bill that passed the House of Representatives, Musk has now launched a full scale assault on the revised Senate version slated for a vote on June 28. He began by amplifying a post on his social media platform, X, from a user detailing the bill's aggressive new measures against the green energy sector. 'The new Senate draft raises taxes on all wind and solar projects that haven't begun construction today unless they are placed service by end of 2027 and navigate complex, likely unworkable requirements to prove they don't use a drop of Chinese materials. After that, this bill ADDS A NEW tax on wind and solar projects that can't prove the same,' the user posted. The new Senate draft raises taxes on all wind and solar projects that haven't begun construction today unless they are placed service by end of 2027 and navigate complex, likely unworkable requirements to prove they don't use a drop of Chinese materials. After that, this bill… — Jesse D. Jenkins (@JesseJenkins) June 28, 2025Musk co-signed the critique, before adding his own dire warning about the bill's broader consequences for the country. 'The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!,' the billionaire wrote, adding that it is, 'Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.' The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country! Utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 28, 2025The question now is how President Trump will react. He has made the passage of this bill his top legislative priority, and his administration has worked tirelessly to silence any dissenting voices within the party. Undeterred, Musk seized on another critical post to continue his offensive. When the same user asked who could possibly want the legislation, which is opposed by automakers, electric utilities, and data center developers, the tech mogul agreed and took his criticism even further. 'Good question. Who?' Musk responded, before attacking another core component of the bill. 'At the same time, this bill raises the debt ceiling by $5 TRILLION, the biggest increase in history, putting America in the fast lane to debt slavery!' Good question. Who? At the same time, this bill raises the debt ceiling by $5 TRILLION, the biggest increase in history, putting America in the fast lane to debt slavery! — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 28, 2025Citing polls he posted on X that show widespread opposition to the bill's key tenets, Musk delivered his most pointed political warning yet. 'Polls show that this bill is political suicide for the Republican Party,' he posted. Polls show that this bill is political suicide for the Republican Party — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 28, 2025The polling data Musk referenced, reportedly conducted by The Tarrance Group, a Republican strategic research and polling firm, between June 14 and June 19, appears to validate his position. The results show that 53% of respondents agree with Musk's characterization of the bill as an 'outrageous pork-packed spending bill that will massively increase the budget deficit and burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.' 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About 20 minutes into Kneecap's set at the Glastonbury music festival on Saturday, the Irish-language rap group stopped the show to discuss a topic that has made it one of Britain's most talked about — and infamous — pop acts. 'I don't have to lecture you people,' Mo Chara, one of the band's rappers, told tens of thousands of onlookers at the festival. 'Israel are war criminals,' he said. He then led the crowd in a chant of 'Free, free, Palestine.' Kneecap's set at Britain's largest music festival on Saturday was so popular that organizers had to shut access to the arena to stop overcrowding. But it came after two head-spinning months for the group. In April, Kneecap lost its U.S. visa sponsor after making anti-Israel statements at Coachella. The police in Britain then charged Mo Chara with a terrorism offense for displaying the flag of Hezbollah, the militant group based in Lebanon, onstage at a London show. Several festivals and venues dropped the band from their lineups. The Board of Deputies of British Jews wrote to Glastonbury urging it not to give Kneecap a platform that could make the band's views appear acceptable, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last week that it was 'not appropriate' for Kneecap to play at the festival, or for the BBC to broadcast the performance. (The BBC, which provides live coverage from Glastonbury, did not broadcast Kneecap's set, and the festival press office did not respond to a request for comment.) Yet unlike lawmakers, Jewish groups and prosecutors, few in the crowd on Saturday appeared to have concerns about the band or its politics. Amy Pepper, 46, a health worker from Northern Ireland, said the band was 'really inspirational, particularly for my kids.' She had seen Kneecap live several times before, she said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
