Elon Musk “disappointed” over Trump’s tax bill
Elon Musk told CBS he was “disappointed” by President Donald Trump’s “big and beautiful” tax bill.
WASHINGTON – Elon Musk officially left the Trump administration, closing the turbulent run of the billionaire tech entrepreneur and leading a controversial effort to cut the federal government.
Already in a smaller role leading government efficiency, Musk announced his departure in a May 28 post on X. It comes as his designation as a “special government employee.”
“As our scheduled time as a special government employee is coming to an end, I would like to thank President @RealdonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk said. “The @Doge mission will be strengthened over time as it will become a government-wide lifestyle.”
White House officials confirmed the mask exit and told USA Today that “the boarding process has begun.”
As head of the Doge, Musk led a controversial effort to quickly disrupt the government and fire federal workers. Doge, which is home to more than 100 government employees, will continue to operate without musk. However, it is unclear how much power the group will maintain without that famous leader.
Musk transformed his attention into his business empire after his electric car company Tesla became a polarized figure as President Donald Trump’s chief sidekick. This week, Musk participated in a massive number of media interviews from the headquarters of his company SpaceX in South Texas, coinciding with the latest test flights of his spacecraft spacecraft.
The day before his departure, Musk criticized Trump’s massive tax and spending bills, criticizing the president for being called a “big, beautiful bill.” The bill, which includes Trump’s domestic agenda on items ranging from border security to tax cuts, passed the House last week along the party’s line. I’m heading to the Senate now.
“Frankly, I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill. This not only reduces it, it also increases the budget deficit and undermines the work the Doge team is doing,” Musk said in an interview on Sunday morning, May 27th.
The Non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.8 trillion to citizen debt over the next decade.
“I think the bill will grow or it might be beautiful, but I don’t know if it’s both. My personal opinion,” Musk said in an interview.
While Doge boasts savings over $175 billion in federal government through cuts, the group’s declared savings can often be exaggerated or misleading. The office demolished the entire federal agency, leading to the end of tens of thousands of federal workers.
Musk downplayed the impact of his absence on Doge’s survival in an interview with USA Today and other media earlier this month.
“Is Buddha necessary for Buddhism?” Musk said when asked who on the Doge team would fill the blank. “Doge is a way of life.”
Reach Joey Garrison with X @joeygarrison.
