Elon Musk Renews Criticism of Trump Spending Bill, Calls for New Political Party
Billionaire Elon Musk reiterated his criticism of US President Donald Trump's spending legislation on Monday, arguing that it underscores the need for a new political party.
The Tesla chief slammed the "insane spending" of the bill, particularly the measure that increases the debt ceiling by $5 trillion.
"It is obvious ... that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!! Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people," Musk wrote on X.
Musk has repeatedly expressed frustration with what he sees as bipartisan indifference to ballooning government debt. Earlier this month, he publicly clashed with Trump over the bill, before backtracking later.
The bitter public feud has led to volatility for Tesla, with shares of the company seeing wild price swings that erased approximately $150 billion of its market value, though it has since recovered.
The dispute underscores growing tensions between the administration and prominent business leaders over fiscal policy priorities.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
US Senate in final push to pass Trump spending bill
WASHINGTON: US senators were in a marathon session of amendment votes Monday as Republicans sought to pass Donald Trump's flagship spending bill, an unpopular package set to slash social welfare programs and add an eye-watering $3 trillion to the national debt. The president wants his 'One Big Beautiful Bill' to extend his expiring first-term tax cuts at a cost of $4.5 trillion, boost military spending and fund his plans for unprecedented mass deportations and border security. But senators eyeing 2026 midterm congressional elections are divided over provisions that would strip around $1 trillion in subsidized health care from millions of the poorest Americans and add more than $3.3 trillion to the nation's already yawning budget deficits over a decade. Trump wants to have the package on his desk by the time Independence Day festivities begin on Friday. Progress in the Senate slowed to a glacial pace Monday, however, with no end in sight as the so-called 'vote-a-rama' — a session allowing members to offer unlimited amendments before a bill can move to final passage — went into a 13th hour. With little sign of the pace picking up ahead of a final floor vote that could be delayed until well into the early hours of Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called for Republicans to 'stay tough and unified.' Vote-a-ramas have been concluded in as little nine or 10 hours in the recent past and Democrats accused Republicans of deliberately slow-walking the process. 'They've got a lot of members who were promised things that they may not be able to deliver on. And so they're just stalling,' Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters. 'But we're just pushing forward amendment after amendment. They don't like these amendments. The public is on our side in almost every amendment we do.' Given Trump's iron grip on the party, he is expected to eventually get what he wants in the Senate, where Republicans hold a razor-thin majority and can overcome what is expected to be unified Democratic opposition. That would be a huge win for the Republican leader — who has been criticized for imposing many of his priorities through executive orders that sidestep the scrutiny of Congress. But approval by the Senate is only half the battle, as the 940-page bill next heads to a separate vote in the House of Representatives, where several rebels in the slim Republican majority are threatening to oppose it. Trump's heavy pressure to declare victory has put more vulnerable Republicans in a difficult position. Nonpartisan studies have concluded that the bill would ultimately pave the way for a historic redistribution of wealth from the poorest 10 percent of Americans to the richest. And cuts to the Medicaid program — which helps low-income Americans get coverage in a country with notoriously expensive medical insurance — and cuts to the Affordable Care Act would result in nearly 12 million more uninsured people by 2034, independent analysis shows. Polls show the bill is among the most unpopular ever considered across multiple demographic, age and income groups. Senate Democrats have been focusing their amendments on highlighting the threats to health care, as well as cuts to federal food aid programs and clean energy tax credits. Republican Majority Leader John Thune can only lose one more vote, with conservative Rand Paul and moderate Thom Tillis already on the record as Republican rebels. A House vote on the Senate bill could come as early as Wednesday. However, ultra-conservative fiscal hawks in the lower chamber have complained that the bill would not cut enough spending and moderates are worried at the defunding of Medicaid. Trump's former close aide Elon Musk — who had an acrimonious public falling out with the president earlier this month over the bill — reprised his sharp criticisms and renewed his calls for the formation of a new political party as voting got underway. The tech billionaire, who headed Trump's Department of Government Efficiency before stepping down at the end of May, accused Republicans of supporting 'debt slavery.' He vowed to launch a new political party to challenge lawmakers who campaigned on reduced federal spending only to vote for the bill.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Elon Musk Renews Criticism of Trump Spending Bill, Calls for New Political Party
Billionaire Elon Musk reiterated his criticism of US President Donald Trump's spending legislation on Monday, arguing that it underscores the need for a new political party. The Tesla chief slammed the "insane spending" of the bill, particularly the measure that increases the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. "It is obvious ... that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!! Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people," Musk wrote on X. Musk has repeatedly expressed frustration with what he sees as bipartisan indifference to ballooning government debt. Earlier this month, he publicly clashed with Trump over the bill, before backtracking later. The bitter public feud has led to volatility for Tesla, with shares of the company seeing wild price swings that erased approximately $150 billion of its market value, though it has since recovered. The dispute underscores growing tensions between the administration and prominent business leaders over fiscal policy priorities.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Apple Loses Bid to Dismiss US Smartphone Monopoly Case
Apple must face the US Department of Justice's lawsuit accusing the iPhone maker of unlawfully dominating the US smartphone market, a judge ruled on Monday. US District Judge Julien Neals in Newark, New Jersey, denied Apple's motion to dismiss the lawsuit accusing the company of using restrictions on third-party app and device developers to keep users from switching to competitors and unlawfully dominate the market. The decision allows the case to go forward in what could be a years-long fight for Apple against enforcers' attempt to lower what they say are barriers to competition with Apple's iPhone. An Apple spokesperson said the company believes the lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and will continue to vigorously fight it in court. A spokesperson for the DOJ declined to comment. Sales of the world's most popular smartphone totaled $201 billion in 2024. Apple introduced a new budget model iPhone in February with enhanced features priced at $170 more than its predecessor. The lawsuit filed in March 2024 focuses on Apple's restrictions and fees on app developers, and technical roadblocks to third-party devices and services, such as smart watches, digital wallets and messaging services, that would compete with its own. DOJ, along with several states and Washington, DC, says the practices destroy competition and Apple should be blocked from continuing them. Apple had argued that its limitations on third-party developers' access to its technology were reasonable, and that forcing it to share technology with competitors would chill innovation. The case is one of a series of US antitrust cases against Big Tech companies brought during the Biden and first Trump administrations. Facebook parent Meta Platforms and are facing lawsuits by antitrust enforcers alleging they illegally maintain monopolies, and Alphabet's is facing two such lawsuits.
