House Republican leaders perplexed as Elon Musk flips on Trump budget bill

WASHINGTON (CN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday appeared genuinely confused about Elon Musk’s surprise opposition to a spending megabill offered by Republicans and backed by President Donald Trump.

But the top House Republican also softened his criticism of the billionaire and outgoing White House adviser, calling him a “friend” and saying that he didn’t take the flip personally.

Musk, who is wrapping up his time as a so-called special government employee and de facto head of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, came out swinging against the GOP’s budget reconciliation measure that passed the House last month.

In a Tuesday post on his social media platform X, Musk called the bill a “disgusting abomination” and panned it as filled with pork, a political term used to criticize bill language which is seen as unrelated to a piece of legislation’s central purpose.

“Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,” the billionaire wrote. “You know it.”

Musk argued in a separate post that the budget reconciliation package, colloquially known as the “big, beautiful bill,” would increase the federal deficit and “burden America [sic] citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.” He also later suggested that Republicans who backed the measure could face a primary challenge.

Reacting to Musk’s comments Tuesday, Johnson said it was “very disappointing” to hear the billionaire had flipped and that he was “terribly wrong” about the bill. And during a news conference Wednesday morning, the House speaker expressed some confusion about Musk’s decision to oppose budget reconciliation.

“It’s curious to me, what happened this week,” Johnson said. “Elon and I left on a great note. We were texting one another, happy texts, on Monday — and then yesterday, 24 hours later, he does a 180 and comes out as opposed to the bill. It surprised me, frankly.”

Johnson again argued that Musk was “flat wrong” on the bill. But he was careful to add that he considered the billionaire a friend and credited him with making major changes to the federal government as part of his government efficiency effort.

“I don’t take it personal,” he said. “We don’t take it personal.”

Johnson refused to speculate on the reasoning for Musk’s about-face, saying that he hadn’t spoken to the billionaire and that people could draw their own conclusions about what happened. But on Tuesday, he alluded to the budget reconciliation bill’s provision doing away with California’s electric vehicle rules, opining that it could have an “effect on his business.”

The speaker distanced himself from those comments Wednesday morning, saying that he’d been prompted by reporters.

“I don’t subscribe motive to anybody,” Johnson said. “I try not to do that. It’s just a good way to live.”

The House speaker, though, did allude to Trump’s feelings on the matter, saying that he had spoken to the president and that he’s “not delighted” about Musk’s change of heart.

Trump himself has not yet made a public statement about his former adviser’s opposition to the budget reconciliation package.

If made law, the “big, beautiful” bill would enact a raft of Trump administration policy priorities, including a provision extending tax cuts implemented in 2017 under the first Trump presidency. The measure would also slash federal spending by as much as $1.5 trillion over the next decade and includes new budget space for defense and border security measures.

The budget reconciliation package cleared the House last month, squeaking through the chamber despite some opposition from Republican holdouts and several overnight committee meetings. The Senate is in the opening stages of debate on the measure — it’s so far unclear whether the GOP has the support it needs to pass the bill in the upper chamber.

Johnson, though, said on Wednesday that he was confident his party could approve the package.

“Very few people are going to say that it’s a perfect piece of legislation, but I hope everybody in both parties will evaluate it and recognize, ‘Wow, the benefits of this outweigh anything I don’t like about it,’” the House speaker said. “That’s why we’re excited about it.”

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