Elon Musk renews his criticism of Trump's big bill
The criticisms reopen a recent fiery conflict between the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency and the administration he recently left. They also represent yet another headache for Republican Senate leaders who have spent the weekend working overtime to get the legislation through their chamber so it can pass by Trump's Fourth of July deadline.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Musk has previously made his opinions about Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' clear. Days after he left the federal government last month with a laudatory celebration in the Oval Office, he blasted the bill as 'pork-filled' and a 'disgusting abomination.'
Advertisement
'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,' he wrote on X earlier this month. In another post, the wealthy GOP donor who had recently forecasted that he'd step back from political donations threatened to fire lawmakers who 'betrayed the American people.'
Advertisement
When Trump clapped back to say he was disappointed with Musk, back-and-forth fighting erupted and quickly escalated. Musk suggested without evidence that Trump, who spent the first part of the year as one of his closest allies, was mentioned in files related to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein.
Musk ultimately tried to make nice with the administration, saying he regretted some of his posts that 'went too far.' Trump responded in kind in an interview with The New York Post, saying, 'Things like that happen. I don't blame him for anything.'
It's unclear how Musk's latest broadsides will influence the fragile peace he and the president had enjoyed in recent weeks. The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk has spent recent weeks focused on his businesses, and his political influence has waned since he left the administration. Still, the wealthy businessman poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Trump's campaign in 2024, demonstrating the impact his money can have if he's passionate enough about an issue or candidate to restart his political spending.
Though he was silent on Musk, Trump laid on pressure and lashed out strongly at Republican holdouts in the Senate as lawmakers spent hours taking a procedural vote during a rare Saturday evening session. He accused Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina of seeking publicity with his no vote and threatened to campaign against the senator's reelection.
The legislation narrowly cleared its test vote in the Senate late Saturday evening, allowing senators to begin debate.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
20 minutes ago
Trump admin live updates: Senate to begin 'One Big Beautiful Bill' vote-a-rama Monday
The Senate on Sunday afternoon began debate on President Donald Trump's megabill for his second term priorities after a dramatic procedural vote late Saturday night. There could be up to 20 hours of debate. While Democrats will use their allotted 10 hours, Republicans are expected not to. The Senate will begin its "vote-a-rama" at 9 a.m. Monday, during which time senators will offer amendments to the bill. Overnight Sunday, the Senate parliamentarian ruled more provisions out of order with the reconciliation process Republicans are using to pass the bill with a simple majority. If it passes in the Senate, the bill goes back to the House to consider changes the Senate made to the House's version of the bill, which passed by one vote.
The Hill
29 minutes ago
- The Hill
Asian shares are mixed after US stocks hit an all-time high
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares started the week with gains after U.S. stocks closed at an all-time high following their recovery from the shocks of the Trump administration's trade policies. Canada's decision to cancel a plan to tax U.S. technology firms that had led President Donald Trump to halt trade talks helped to steady the markets. U.S. stock futures advanced after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the talks had resumed. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 climbed 0.6% to 40,395.99. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.3% to 24,207.36, while the Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.5% to 3,438.46. China reported that its factory activity improved slightly in June after Beijing and Washington agreed in May to postpone imposing higher tariffs on each others' exports, though manufacturing remained in contraction. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.5% to 3,070.93. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.6% to 8,560.80. Taiwan's Taiex lost 1.4% and the Sensex in India was down 0.4%. In Bangkok, the SET was up 0.3%. On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 6,173.07, above its previous record set in February. The key measure of Wall Street's health fell nearly 20% from Feb. 19 through April 8. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.5% to 20,273.46, its own all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% to 43,819.27. The gains on Friday were broad, with nearly every sector within the S&P 500 rising. Nike soared 15.2% for the biggest gain in the market, despite warning of a steep hit from tariffs. An update on inflation Friday showed prices ticked higher in May, though the rate mostly matched economists' projections. Inflation remains a big concern. Trump's on-again-off-again tariff policy has made it difficult for companies to make financial forecasts and strained household budgets. A long list of businesses from carmakers to retailers have warned that higher import taxes will likely hurt their revenues and profits. The U.S. has 10% baseline tariffs on all imported goods, along with higher rates for Chinese goods and other import taxes on steel and autos and the threat of more severe tariffs continues to hang over the economy. The current pause on a round of retaliatory tariffs against a long list of nations is set to expire on July 9. Failure to negotiate deals or further postpone the tariffs could once again rattle investors and consumers. In an interview with Fox News Channel's 'Sunday Morning Futures,' Trump said his administration will notify countries that the trade penalties will take effect unless there are deals with the United States. Letters will start going out 'pretty soon' before the approaching deadline, he said. The Federal Reserve is monitoring the tariff situation with a big focus on inflation. The rate of inflation has been stubbornly sitting just above the central bank's target of 2%. In a report Friday, its preferred gauge, the personal consumption expenditures index, rose to 2.3% in May. That's up from 2.2% the previous month. The Fed cut interest rates three times in late 2024 following a historic series of rate hikes to cool inflation. The PCE was as high as 7.2% in 2022 while the more commonly used consumer price index hit 9.1%. The Fed hasn't cut rates so far in 2025 over worries that tariffs could reignite inflation and hamper the economy. Economists still expect at least two rate cuts before the end of the year. Bond yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.28% from 4.27% late Friday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, stood at 3.74%. In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 8 cents to $65.44 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 6 cents to $66.86 per barrel. The U.S. dollar fell to 143.93 Japanese yen from 144.46 yen. The euro rose to $1.1730 from $1.1725. __ AP Business Writers Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga contributed.
CNBC
33 minutes ago
- CNBC
CNBC Daily Open: The S&P 500's high is a gift from Trump that can be taken away
Something I rarely, if ever, say: What a wonderful Monday morning! On Friday stateside, the S&P 500 broke its previous record. Celebrations were shared with the Nasdaq Composite, which also hit a new high. The tech-heavy index enjoyed a liftoff from Nvidia and Microsoft, both of which reached all-time highs (and probably made some insiders at Nvidia multi-millionaires over the past month). Tariff relief buoyed sentiment in markets. China announced it had finalized details of its deal with the United States. And even though U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs are due to kick in (again) one week later, he suggested that his administration "can do whatever we want" regarding the 90-day pause. Postponing the return of those tariffs would give investors further cheer and put another feather, perhaps of the chicken variety, in their caps. That said, as Trump giveth, so does he taketh away. The S&P 500 was up as much as 0.76% at one point during Friday's trading session, but stumbled after the U.S. president slammed the door shut on trade talks with Canada over its digital services tax. The index dipped only slightly, but that nonetheless shaved off some gains from what could have been a higher high. Even though Canada has since rescinded the tax, this episode shows how Trump is still steering markets. U.S. markets open just as Europe trading begins winding down. May it be in Trump's nature to be a giver, to borrow Chappell Roan's words — so Monday can end as well as it began. New record for S&P 500. The broad-based index rose 0.52% to close at 6,173.07 Friday, surpassing its previous high of 6,147.43. U.S. futures climbed Sunday evening stateside. On Monday, Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose. China manufacturing activity contracted in June. Even though the official purchasing managers' index improved from May's reading, it's still below the 50-point mark, making it the third consecutive month of contraction. Canada walks back on its digital services tax. The country's decision, released Sunday night local time, follows Trump's announcement that the U.S. is ending trade discussions because of said tax. 'Very wealthy people' ready to buy TikTok. Speaking at a Fox News interview on Sunday, Trump said he can reveal the identities of those individuals in about two weeks, but the deal depends on Beijing's approval. [PRO] Eyes on U.S. jobs numbers. June's nonfarm payrolls report comes out Thursday and could determine if the rally in U.S. markets continues. Investors will only have half a day to react: U.S. markets close early Thursday and are dark Friday. How BP became a potential takeover target For weeks, market tongues have been wagging about a potential merger between Britain's oil giants — until, ending weeks of speculation, Shell on Thursday denied reports that it's in talks to acquire BP. But how did we get to the point that BP, a U.K. oil exploration company that was founded in 1909 under the name Anglo-Persian Oil Company, is now seen as a possible takeover target for its long-time rival?
