Musk Forms New Political Party After Split With Trump Over President's Signature Tax Cuts Law
As the bill made its way through Congress, Musk threatened to form the America Party if 'this insane spending bill passes.' 'When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft we live in a one-party system not a democracy,' Musk said Saturday on X, the social media company he owns. 'Today the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.'
The formation of new political parties is not uncommon, but they typically struggle to pull any significant support away from the Republican and Democratic parties. But Musk, the world's richest man, who spent at least $250 million supporting Trump in the 2024 election, could impact the 2026 elections – determining control of Congress – if he is willing to spend significant amounts of Monday. His reignited feud with the president could also be costly for Musk, whose businesses rely on billions of dollars in government contracts, and publicly traded company Tesla has taken a hit in the market.
It wasn't clear whether Musk had taken steps to formally create the new political party. Spokespeople for Musk and his political action committee America PAC didn't immediately comment Sunday. As of Sunday morning, there were multiple political parties listed in the Federal Election Commission database that had been formed in the hours since Musk's Saturday X post with versions of 'America Party of DOGE' or 'X' in the name or Musk listed among people affiliated with the entity. But none appeared to be authentic, listing contacts for the organization as email addresses such as ' [email protected] ' or untraceable Protonmail addresses.
Musk on Sunday spent the morning on X taking feedback from users about the party and indicated he'd use the party to get involved in the 2026 midterm elections. Last month, he threatened to try to oust every member of Congress that voted for Trump's bill.
Musk had called the tax breaks and spending cuts package 'a disgusting abomination,' warning it would increase the federal deficit, among other critiques. 'The Republican Party has a clean sweep of the executive, legislative and judicial branches and STILL had the nerve to massively increase the size of government, expanding the national debt by a record five trillion dollars,' Musk said Sunday on X.
His critiques of the bill and move to form a political party mark a reversal from May when his time in the White House was winding down and the head of rocket company SpaceX and electric vehicle maker Tesla said he would spend a lot less on politics in the future.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who clashed with Musk while he ran DOGE, said on CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday that DOGE's principles were popular, but 'if you look at the polling, Elon was not.' 'I imagine that those board of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities,' he said.
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