Trump's marquee bill passes Senate as feud with Musk roars back to life

The Age

3 days ago

That animosity roared back into life in the past 48 hours as the billionaire Tesla and SpaceX boss again tried to derail passage of what he called an 'insane spending bill' that would deepen US debt.
Musk has amplified and encouraged a number of Republican holdouts, including Thomas Massie, a member of the House of Representatives, and Senator Rand Paul, another fiscal hawk who opposes higher spending and raising the debt ceiling.
'What's the point of a debt ceiling if we keep raising it?' Musk asked overnight. 'Hitting the debt ceiling is the only thing that will actually force the government to cut waste and fraud.'
Since stepping away from his White House role running the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, Musk had vowed to abandon political campaigning and spending, having bankrolled Trump and Republican candidates to the tune of nearly $US300 million last year.
But he now says he will ensure sitting Republicans lose their primaries (preslections) at next year's midterm elections 'if it is the last thing I do on this earth'.
Musk added: 'If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day. Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.'
In response, Trump suggested the DOGE cost-cutting razor gang would investigate federal subsidies handed to Musk's companies Tesla and SpaceX.
'Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,' Trump posted on TruthSocial. 'No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE.'
Asked on Tuesday morning, Washington time, whether he wanted to deport Musk, Trump replied nonchalantly: 'We'll have to take a look.'
He added: 'We might have to put DOGE on Elon. Do you know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn't that be terrible?'
Later, while opening a new immigration detention centre in Florida dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz', Trump said: 'DOGE is going to look at Musk. And if DOGE looks at Musk, we're going to save a fortune. I don't think he should be playing that game with me.'
The intense feud illustrates the high-stakes nature of the battle to pass the bill through two chambers where Republicans hold only a slight majority. But Musk has so far failed to destroy the bill, underscoring his waning influence in Washington.
The White House denies the bill adds to the deficit, pointing to savings measures of $US2 trillion. It asserts the overall US budget position will improve due to economic growth, which it thinks will be higher than numerous experts predict. The Republicans are also using abnormal accounting practices to argue that extending the tax cuts does not count as a new cost.
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'The Crooked Budget Office has a terrible record with its predictions and hasn't earned the attention the media gives it,' the White House said.
Trump wants to sign the bill into law by a self-imposed deadline of July 4 – Independence Day – and House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson promised it would be ready in time.
'Republicans were elected to do exactly what this bill achieves: secure the border, make tax cuts permanent, unleash American energy dominance, restore peace through strength, cut wasteful spending and return to a government that puts Americans first,' Johnson said.
As for deporting Musk, that seems highly unlikely, as the Tesla and SpaceX boss has held US citizenship since 2002. He is also a citizen of South Africa and Canada.
However, the Trump administration has indicated a new interest in stripping people of citizenship. In June, the Justice Department issued a memo directing its attorneys to prioritise denaturalisation proceedings 'in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence'.
Among the cases the department wants to prioritise are people who acquired their citizenship through fraud or misrepresentation, as well as 'any other cases referred to the Civil Division that the Division determines to be sufficiently important to pursue'.