Donald Trump Reacts to Elon Musk's Criticism of 'Big, Beautiful Bill' as He Leaves Trump Administration

Elon Musk has officially stepped down from President Donald Trump's administration following news of a bill the latter wants to introduce. Musk's resignation came shortly after he publicly shared his concerns about the new legislation.

During a press conference held on May 28, 2025, President Trump addressed reporters in the Oval Office. He responded to criticism from his White House Senior Advisor, Elon Musk, about the "One, Big, Beautiful Bill." The president delayed swearing in Jeanine Pirro as the Interim US Attorney for the District of Washington to comment on the matter.

A reporter asked Trump for his thoughts after Musk criticized the bill during a television interview. According to the reporter, the Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said he was "disappointed it didn't cut enough, essentially that undercut the DOGE efforts."

DOGE, short for the Department of Government Efficiency, was the department Musk led. Trump responded, saying, "Well, my reaction is a lot of things: Number one, we have to get a lot of votes. We can't be cutting, you know we need to get a lot of support and we have a lot of support. We had to get it through the House."

The president continued, "We have no Democrats. You know if it's up to the Democrats they'll take the 65% increase. You know if that doesn't get approved this country is going to have a 65% increase in taxes and lots of other problems, big problems, almost bigger than that."

"But we'll have a 65% increase as opposed to the largest tax cut in the history of our country," he said. He noted that the bill would be subject to negotiation, admitting he was "not happy about about certain aspects of it," though he added he was "thrilled" by others.

Explaining the bill's name, Trump said it was called "beautiful" because of its intended benefit of tax cuts. He claimed it would bring "the lowest tax rate we've ever had in the history of our country. And tremendous amounts of benefit are going to the middle income people of our country."

The Senate is reportedly in talks with Trump and his team about advancing the bill. During his appearance on "CBS Sunday Morning," Musk addressed the new legislature. He stated, "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing."

If signed into law, the bill would reportedly reverse all the work accomplished by DOGE within a year. The SpaceX CEO remarked, "I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it could be both my personal opinion."

News of Musk's criticism came just as he announced his departure from DOGE. On the same day as Trump's press conference, Musk posted on his social media platform X, writing, "As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."

Further criticizing the federal system, Musk commented that the bureaucracy was worse than he had anticipated. He said, "I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C., to say the least."

He expressed frustration over the consequences of DOGE's budget cuts, saying, "DOGE is just becoming the whipping boy for everything. So, like, something bad would happen anywhere, and we would get blamed for it even if we had nothing to do with it."

The billionaire also spoke about the negative perception of his companies, referencing incidents where individuals set fire to Tesla vehicles. He said, "Why would you do that? That's really uncool."

During an April 2025 interview, Musk had already indicated his desire to focus more on Tesla and reduce his involvement with DOGE. Despite a sharp drop in Tesla's first-quarter profits, Musk remained hopeful about the company's direction.

His position at DOGE was always intended to be temporary. The department was a government initiative focused on streamlining fiscal operations. His term as a special government employee concluded after 130 days.

In an April interview with DOGE team members, Musk expressed confidence that the team would achieve its goal of cutting the federal deficit by $1 trillion within that time. Trump had already hinted at Musk's exit in March, acknowledging both his contributions and obligations at Tesla.

Although the president praised Musk as "amazing" and "very smart," he conceded that the tech entrepreneur would need to return to his company. Trump credited Musk's involvement with DOGE's success, noting the department had uncovered financial discrepancies "nobody can even believe."

Reports indicate that House Republicans narrowly passed Trump's "one big, beautiful bill" after making last-minute revisions to gain party consensus. The bill, part of the president's second-term agenda, now heads to the Senate.

The bill extends the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and introduces new tax breaks, including untaxed tips and overtime pay (through 2028), a $10,000 deduction on US-assembled auto loans (through 2029), and eliminates a $200 tax on gun silencers.

The child tax credit is increased by $500 to $2,500 through 2028. A new 3.5 percent tax applies to remittances by non-citizens. Medicaid provisions include work requirements for able-bodied, childless adults aged 19 to 64 by the end of 2026, more eligibility checks, funding cuts to states covering undocumented immigrants, and a ban on gender transition coverage.

The State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap is lifted to $40,000 for households earning up to $500,000, addressing concerns from blue-state Republicans. The bill allocates $46.5 billion for border wall construction, $4.1 billion for Border Patrol hiring, over $2 billion in bonuses, a $1,000 asylum application fee, and an extra $12 billion in security funding.

"Trump accounts," which are federally seeded with $1,000 for children born between 2024 and 2028, allow annual parental contributions up to $5,000. These funds can be used from age 18 for education, training, or home buying and are taxed at the long-term capital gains rate.

The bill extends Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements from age 54 to 64 for able-bodied, childless adults, and shifts more cost responsibility to states. Clean energy tax incentives are reduced, phasing out credits for clean vehicles and facilities unless construction starts soon. Nuclear projects remain exempt.

New annual federal fees are introduced: $250 for electric vehicles and $100 for hybrids. Donald Trump's bill also raises the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, embedding the increase in a budget measure that bypasses Democratic negotiations.

Elon Musk's resignation marks a pivotal shift in the ongoing debate over government spending reforms. As Trump's bill advances, the future of DOGE's impact remains uncertain.