‘He’s still a player in all of this’: Could Musk block Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill?
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Elon Musk has turned his financial firepower against Trump's $2.3 trillion spending bill, threatening to fund campaigns against Republicans who back it. With senators caught between Trump's demands and Musk's money, the question is: who holds the real power?
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Read time: 4 minutes
In brief:
- Musk has publicly opposed Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" - calling it a "disgusting abomination" due to its $2.3 trillion price tag, which he believes undermines the government spending cuts he advocated for while heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) before leaving the administration.
- Musk is threatening to use his wealth against politicians who support the bill - creating a "pincer movement" where senators face pressure from Trump to vote yes and threats from Musk to fund campaigns against them if they do.
- The News Agents say the situation raises questions about who ultimately has more leverage when "one man's got all the power and the other man's got all the money and the megaphone."
What’s the story?
Musk’s seat in the White House may still be warm after his departure from the Trump administration last week, but his criticism of the president's latest policy is ice cold.
The former head of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) slammed Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill act as a “disgusting abomination”.
Musk hinted last week that he didn’t support the bill, which includes tax cuts for individuals and corporations and a huge $1tn (£741bn) in cuts to benefits for low-income families, amongst other things.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote on X. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination”.
He said the estimated $2.3tn price tag to implement the policies of the One Big Beautiful Bill undermines DOGE's work to slash government spending.
Not alone in his dissaproval, Republican Senators Rand Paul (Kentucky) and Mike Lee (Utah) have backed Musk’s criticism, with Paul responding to the Tesla billionaire’s post, writing; “we can and must do better”.
Trump responded to Sen. Paul’s post on Truth Social, accusing the Kentucky lawmaker of voting “NO on everything” and “never” having “practical or constructive ideas.”
The rebuke of Musk was both less direct and less harsh, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responding; “The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill.” She added; “It doesn’t change his opinion.”
Is Donald Trump 'revelling in tax cuts for the rich'?
Can Musk derail the One Big Beautiful Bill?
Musk has gone further than publicly criticising the One Big Beautiful Bill - he’s actively threatening those politicians who choose to vote in favour of it.
He posted on X; “In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people.”
While the bill passed through the House of Representatives last month, it still needs to be approved by the Senate if it's to become law - and right now some Senators, including Rand Paul and Missouri’s Josh Hawley, aren’t on board - leading to Trump “piling the pressure on these hapless souls”, Jon Sopel explains on The News Agents.
“Elon Musk has infinite resources that he can start funding campaigns against senators who vote for the bill,’ Jon adds.
“So you've got Donald Trump threatening senators and congressmen in one direction, saying, ‘if you don't do this, then I'll do that to you’.
“And you've got Elon Musk saying, ‘if you do do that, I'll do this to you’.
“So you've got a pincer movement now, where people are thinking, ‘who do I fear the most? Do I fear what Donald Trump might do? Or do I fear the wealth that Elon Musk could bring to bear in elections coming up?’”
Although not a government official anymore, Musk’s power and wealth could influence the vote if he is willing to back those who want to oppose the deal but are too fearful of standing up to Trump.
“You feel a little bit safer in going into that territory of defying Donald Trump, because the financial firepower of Musk might just help you through the turbulence that will be created,” Jon explains.
“And that is why Musk is still a player in all of this.”
What’s The News Agents’ take?
Musk’s opposition to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill is at least consistent, Emily Maitlis says, describing Musk as a “fiscal hawk” who doesn’t like seeing the deficit grow.
Whether Musk would really re-enter the political sphere in an attempt to block the bill, or to punish those who support it, is much less certain, she believes.
“I don't know whether his gut is really into running more elections. He spent a lot of money in Wisconsin and he lost - and that was humiliating.”
“Is he really going to start coming back, given all the problems that he's got, reputationally, given all the problems that he's got with Tesla now, given all the failures that he's got with Space X.
“Is he really going to turn around and go, ‘yeah, I'm going to fight Republicans and get them primaried and get them removed’?”
If he does, the question becomes whether things will turn brutal between the two figures - who until now have kept things civil, even as Musk left his government role.
Jon’s bet is that Trump will try to “keep him sweet” in the hope that “he doesn’t turn his extraordinary financial firepower against him.”
But as always, it’s hard to predict the billionaire’s next move.
“You don't know what Elon Musk is going to do. He is wired differently from most other human beings.
“Although he's stepped back, the fact that he's launched this fuselage against Donald Trump's bill says ‘I'm still watching politics closely, and I still care about the outcome’.”
“One man's got all the power and the other man's got all the money and the megaphone,” Emily says.
“Who is in charge? Who's got the upper hand here?”
Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents USA.
